Television may be linked to disease risk, but watching it isn’t the real culprit

When Harvard researchers published an article this week linking television viewing to heart disease and diabetes, the news hit close to home. Or at least it would have if I hadn’t been so busy watching consecutive episodes of “SportsCenter.”

As I eventually discovered during a commercial break, the research makes a strong case for the dangers of TV — or at least the dangers of sitting down and staring at something for hours at a time. Pooling together the results of eight previous studies, the researchers concluded that each two-hour block of daily television viewing increased the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 20% and heart disease by about 15%. Put another way, they estimated that if 100,000 people watched two hours of television every day, 38 would die from heart disease each year as a direct result of their viewing habits.

I have to admit: The television at the Woolston house gets used hard, and not just by the Cartoon Network crowd. I have a rooting interest in “So You Think You Can Dance.” (Jordan!) I think Cody, the long-haired guy on “Dual Survival,” should stop being such a flake and buy some hiking boots. “The Wire,” “Lost,” “Deadwood,” “The Simpsons” ... If I really had to choose between TV and my heart, I’m afraid I’d go with the clicker over the ticker.

But as far as I know, the glow from a TV screen isn’t exactly toxic. When health experts warn of the dangers of TV time, they’re really talking about the dangers of spending too much time sitting down instead of working out. No matter what your interests, sitting still for prolonged periods of time could be hard on your health, says Ryan Rhodes, director of the Behavioral Medicine lab at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. “It seems like getting up and moving, or even standing, every once in a while may be important,” he says.

Perhaps more to the point, people who log a lot of hours of TV time often don’t get the moderate to vigorous exercise they need — at least 150 minutes worth a week — to stay healthy. That’s a big reason why TV watchers end up doing so poorly in these studies. And that’s exactly why why I’m not afraid of “The Daily Show.” I get more than my share of TV, but I also play mediocre racquetball several times a week, walk the dog every day and ride my bike when weather allows. My weight’s right where it should be, my diet is decent and my last physical was laughably uneventful.

It’s obviously possible for a TV junkie to stay healthy. To take the optimistic view of the latest statistics, 99,962 people out of every 100,000 will survive their television addiction every year. I’ll take those odds, especially if it means that I don’t have to miss a single episode of “Modern Family.” What can I say? The show has a lot of heart.