A new medical study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association seems to confirm previous studies that persons who watch TV sitting down are more likely to die an early death.

Oddly, the study also found out this result does not apply to other activities that require sitting down such as working on a computer or driving. It said this suggests there may be something "odd" or different about sitting down while watching TV that makes this activity more dangerous.

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Study author Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez said TV viewing is a major sedentary behavior and there is an increasing trend toward all types of sedentary behaviors.

"Our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching television was linked to mortality," he said.

The research team followed more than 13,000 college graduates in Spain for an average of over eight years. Participants were asked about their sitting activities like watching TV, working on computers and driving.

Researchers discovered there were 97 deaths in this group. Of these deaths, 19 were due to heart-related causes; 46 were caused by cancer while 32 were from other causes.

They found out that people who watched more than three hours of TV per day were twice as likely to die as people who watched one hour or less.

Researchers said the results were consistent even when taking into account a number of variables that contribute to early death.

They weren't clear about what it was about watching TV that's deadlier than other types of sitting. They surmise it might be that sitting down for extended periods leads to metabolic changes, including insulin resistance, and to hormonal changes, as well.

Researchers believe routine sitting could also produce low-grade inflammation in the body that could be linked to cancer or heart disease.

Researchers said the solution is to sit down for as little time as you can during the day, whether at work or at home.

"As the population ages, sedentary behaviors will become more prevalent, especially watching television, and this poses an additional burden on the increased health problems related to aging," said Martinez-Gonzalez.

"Our findings suggest adults may consider increasing their physical activity, avoid long sedentary periods, and reduce television watching to no longer than one to two hours each day."

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute this June suggested that TV-watching is linked to certain types of cancer.

It found an additional two hours a day of sedentary behavior was linked to an eight percent increase in colon cancer risk; a 10 percent increase in endometrial cancer risk and a six percent increase in lung cancer risk.

It did not, however, discover a similar connection for breast, rectum, ovary and prostate cancers or for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Researchers came to these conclusions by analyzing 43 existing studies that included four million study participants and 68,936 cancer cases. The study measured the relationship between hours spent sitting down and certain types of cancers.

Researchers, however, said their the research doesn't prove cause and effect.

"Does sitting in front of the TV cause colon cancer? No," said Dr. Martin Heslin, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"But the recommendations (of the study) are awesome." 

Dr. Heslin suggests people look for opportunities to leave their desks to reduce the number of hours they spend sitting down. A person can stand up while working or take a break by taking a walk.

"If I ever have the opportunity to design (a meeting room), I'm putting a waist-high table in the room and no chairs," Dr. Heslin said.

TagsTelevision bad for health, sitting down, health problems, Study