Watching too much TV increases your risk of early death

Allow me to be the first to say that I will happily take Netflix binge-watching to the grave.

I wish that statement weren't so literal, but a new study suggests that watching too much TV increases the risk of early death.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, reports that adults who watch three or more hours of TV daily may double their risk of premature death. Researchers surveyed 13,284 healthy adults and assessed their risk of death from sedentary behaviors, including TV watching, computer time, and driving time. Interestingly, the team didn't find health associations with computer or driving time, but three hours of TV doubled the risk of death for the study's participants.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense activity per week, Time reports. If you can't part ways with your favorite shows, though, there's no health risk in spending those minutes on the treadmill that just happens to be closest to your gym's TV.