14 DAY TRIAL // This week is all about staying healthy and doing a small bid towards going green for the sake of the environment, with the National TV Turnoff Week that will last until Sunday. As FitSugar points out, we might as well use this week to learn or remember the basics to staying healthy, by replacing the time we’d spend in front of the TV with working out and going outdoors.
A sedentary lifestyle is our main enemy when it comes to losing weight, as well as the strongest factor when it comes to gaining pounds. Even if we’re not aware of it, or despite the fact that we spend only a couple of minutes in front of the telly – say, right after having dinner, to relax – every second matters because, to put it simply, we could be doing something else, something much healthier and more educational, it has been said.
However, before making a change and banishing the TV from our lives in favor of more pleasant, communication-oriented activities, we might give the whole thing a try with the National TV Turnoff Week. Moreover, in order to make the “transition” easier on us, FitSugar also comprised a list with the many benefits we would be deriving from doing something else than being a couch potato, with some of them also presented below.
For instance, studies have shown that people who watch more TV are less likely to be happy in the long term, while relationships and human interaction in general become eroded and eventually disappear. Eating in front of the telly is, again, a common occurrence in many households – what we’re forgetting, though, is that, in doing so, we are more prone to consume more calories than we need by overeating. Studies have also shown that crime dramas are more likely to lead to overeating.
“For every hour of TV watched daily, a preschooler’s risk of being overweight increases by six percent – and a whopping 31 percent for kids with a TV in their rooms.” FitSugar says. Furthermore, with the average American watching more than four hours TV daily, turning the TV off this week would not only mean bringing down this average a bit, but also saving plenty of energy, thus, make our own positive contribution to the environment.
For more details on the National TV Turnoff Week, see here.