Vegging in front of TV can cut life expectancy by 5 years

WATCHING TV for an average of six hours a day can cut life expectancy by five years.

A sedentary lifestyle — as opposed to just not taking enough exercise — increases the risk of dying, particularly from heart attack and stroke.

Watching TV accounts for a large part of people’s sedentary living, but time sitting down and in cars also counts, said researchers writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.