A study by researchers at University of Queensland in Australia offers a sobering statistic: Television can shorten your life by 22 minutes per viewing hour. The study, which was published earlier this month in the “British Journal of Sports Medicine,”
A study by researchers at University of Queensland in Australia offers a sobering statistic: Television can shorten your life by 22 minutes per viewing hour. The study, which was published earlier this month in the “British Journal of Sports Medicine,” followed the viewing habits of 11,000 people over the age of 25.
While it’s no surprise that parking your butt in front of the boob tube isn’t good for your health, I suspect it’s a lack of physical activity and poor eating habits of TV viewers that are the real culprits.
But it’s not just TV that’s bad for us. We have been barraged by countless news articles and studies warning us about the hazards of playing video games, surfing the Internet, drinking soda, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, eating fatty foods, eating salty foods, eating non-organic foods, not being physically active and the list goes on and on.
While all of these things may put us in early graves, there’s some things I love to hate.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite things that might put me in an early grave.
Loco mocos. How can you go wrong with white rice, hamburger, a fried egg and brown gravy? While eating these delicious creations might increase my chances of having a heart attack, it’s hard not to pass up this delightfully delectable Hawaiian dish — especially if I happen to be at Smiley’s Local Grinds in Lihu‘e.
Diet soda. Even though critics of soda have warned me that diet soda is just as bad as regular soda, I can’t shake my habit for these artificially sweetened drinks. I’m not sure if its the rush of caffeine I experience, the satisfaction of drinking something sweet or the fact that I have been conditioned to think diet soda is healthier than regular soda that makes me enjoy my addiction to the can.
Bad television. Even though I’d like to think I’m not a couch potato, it’s hard to deny this fact when I can tell you what went down during last Sunday’s “Bridezillas.” What can I say? There’s something about watching crazed brides throwing punches, screaming at their friends and treating their husbands-to-be like trash that keeps me hooked. And it just isn’t “Bridezillas” that paralysis my ability to change the channel — you can add reruns of “Everyone Loves Raymond,” “Family Guy” and Nickelodeon’s block of “The ‘90s Are All That.”
Anything deep fried. You could deep fry a shoe and I would eat it. Also, I’m a fan of bacon. Wrap a slice of bacon around that deep fried shoe, and I’d be in seventh heaven.
YouTube. YouTube is one of the greatest things to come out of Silicon Valley. Just like with television, I can watch a hours worth of YouTube videos and not even realize it. Where else can you watch people acting like idiots, town hall meetings and the 1987 film “North Shore” in its entirety?
• Andrea Frainier, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or afrainier@ thegardenisland.com.
