Sitting in front of the TV encourages you to make unhealthy eating decisions
Spending an hour in front of the television is reducing your life expectancy by almost 22 minutes.
Did that make you jump up from your chair?
Every time that we sit down to relax and watch tv programmes - we've most likely already seen or a DVD we are reducing the amount of time we get to spend alive.
Viewing a TV for an average of six hours a day can shorten your life by five years, according to a new study.
The research claims that a sedentary lifestyle is as bad for your health as smoking and obesity - as slouching about can lead to a greater chances of unhealthy eating.
The study involved more than 11,000 people over the age of 25.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, they concluded: "TV viewing time may be associated with a loss of life that is comparable to other major chronic disease risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity."
The findings are also comparable to risk factors such as smoking, with other research showing that one cigarette cuts 11 minutes off a lifespan - equivalent to half an hour of watching TV.
The researchers, from the University of Queensland, used information from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study, together with population and death rate data.
But they said: "While we used Australian data, the effects in other industrialised and developing countries are likely to be comparabale, given the typically large amounts of time spent watching TV and similarities in disease patterns."
What will you do this evening? Sit in front of the TV or try something different?
New research from Taiwan indicates that exercising for just 15 minutes a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14 per cent.
The government recently updates its exercise advice to have a more flexible approach, recommending adults get 150 minutes of activity a week.
This could be a couple of 10-minute bouts of activity every day or 30-minute exercise sessions, five times a week, for example.
Experts say this advice still stands, but that a minimum of 15 minutes a day is a good place to start for those who currently do little or no exercise.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Health fitness tips