To Watch or Not To Watch?

When we get bored, we prefer to sit back and relax. If there is a complete set of television which is fully equipped with amazing sound system, that could probably sufficient to wrap up the rest of the day. No doubt, television brings us fantastic programs which have the ability to attract us, glue our butts onto the seat.

Perhaps, that is most people culture, be it Asians or Westerners. Eyes on the TV set, is a normal thing to do, and it has becoming a routine for each one of us. In addition, many of us are very well aware that addicting to TV programs for a certain number of hours is not beneficial to us, particularly our health.

A latest study suggests that adults weighing above the healthy range (in other words, individuals who are overweight) could burn more calories by watching less television. This study was the work of University of Vermont researchers, and it appears in the December issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The lead author Dr. Jennifer Otten, suggested that other sedentary activities, such as chatting on the phone, and even reading, actually burns more calories compare to spending time in front of the television. This team of researchers had conducted a trial to look at how reducing the amount of time spent on watching television could affect energy expenditure, body weight, calorie consumption, level of activity and other related attributes, in adults who were deemed overweight.

Researchers recruited 36 adults to participate in this study. Among 20 of htem were chosen at random to cut their TV viewing by 50 per cent for 3 weeks, while the remaining of the adults were treated as the control group.

Surprisingly, for those 20 adults who were chosen to halve their amount of time in viewing the TV, they eventually burn 120 calories more than those in the control group. But how much exactly 120 calories is? Dr. Otten said 120 calories a day of energy which they burned off is equivalent to walking more than a mile.