A recent study shows that, an American spends at least 4 hrs a day on an average watching Television. What is your average? How much time do you spend sitting on your couch watching your favorite TV shows? This study was conducted by American Health Association and its results are shocking. It was conducted over a period of 6 years in more than 75,000 women in US alone who regularly watch at least 2 hours of Television each day. Nearly 25% of them were at a high risk of developing obesity and 15% had a chance of Type 2 diabetes.

But, merely watching Television does not make you fat. It has to be something else. It is due to something that you are not doing while watching TV that makes the whole difference.

When you are drooping on your couch or sofa in front of "TMZ" or "Desperate Housewives", you are not weeding your garden or tidying up your house or even going for a walk. You use about 300 calories an hour while playing with your children or while cooking a meal. Whereas, it is only a quarter of the above amount of calories you burn when slumped on your couch watching Television. Unless you eat less, we are talking about gaining nearly 12lbs of fat a year by watching just 30 minutes of TV each day, instead of being active.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Did I ever say I don’t have enough time to exercise but still I watch 2 hrs TV a day?

• Do I eat instant or ready meals as I don’t have time to cook but still have time to watch TV?

• Do I find it hard to get enough time to take proper care of myself, yet I find an hour to watch the latest episode of my favorite show?

If your answer is ‘Yes’ to all those questions above, then your Television is stealing time right from under your nose.

Does this make any sense? No! You still don’t want to give up your beloved TV? You may ask yourself. Is that the only way, by not watching Television that will make you lose weight?

The answer may be, NO! There may be other options. However you should keep in mind that watching Television is going to cost you dearly and should treat it with caution.

Watch only those shows that you really like. Limiting that to 1 or 2 a day will fetch you enough time to properly take care of yourself. Get up deliberately and do your chores. Try to avoid eating while watching TV.

If you really want to fight obesity, you can try to be active even while watching Television. Do a few exercises or you can even iron your clothes while watching your favorite TV programs. This will definitely help you to burn some calories and will also help you to stop eating snacks while watching TV shows. So, turn off your TV set now and do something fun with your friends or family and live long.

By: Bob Jackson