The “No TV” Diet!
Here’s a suggestion for losing weight…
Unplug the TV.
Or, if you want to live a little more dangerously, pull a “Keith Richards,” and heave it off the balcony (checking first for innocent civilians below), or empty a couple of shells of double-ought buck into it from a safe distance away (the living room?). Whatever you do, it’s time to bid good riddance to this benevolent monster.
OK, OK, all silliness aside, there is method to my madness. Uh-huh… it may well be that the TV — yep, the good old “boob tube” — is your biggest hindrance to weight loss — and even worse, a major cointributor to obesity. Now I’m sure for most of you, this isn’t going to come as a surprise. However, you just might be a little shocked at how much more TV you watch than you think. For instance…
According to data compiled by AC Nielsen, the average American watches 4 and a half hours of TV a day! 4 and half! The TV, in an average household, is “on” for over 8 hours! This data doesn’t “jive” with the most common excuse I hear for failing to implement a proper diet and exercise program…
“I don’t have time.”
Obviously, most people do have the time. They either…
- Can’t be bothered
- Have a priority issue (i.e., TV and other distractions are more important than a healthy bodyweight)
- Simply don’t realize how much time is wasted on a daily basis.
Frankly, I think its the latter; I suspect TV eats up a lot more time than most people think. 4 and half hours a day is 31 and a half hours per week. That’s only slightly less than the average work week. In that much time you could easily prepare proper meals and workout. Heck, you could even learn a new language and start a small business on the side.
And TV ain’t helping your children either. In fact, studies show (see Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Nov;14(11):2034-41) that the more TV a child watches, the greater the likelihood he or she will become obese. Other studies show (see Int J Obes (Lond). 2007 Apr;31(4):644-51. Epub 2006 Sep 12) that this is even more likely if the child has a TV in his or her room.
And it even gets worse. This study concludes…
“Our findings raise the possibility that greater exposure to TV and videos may influence preschool children’s consumption of unhealthful foods.”
A similar study had much the same thing to say…
“These findings suggest that longer duration of TV watching (thus, more frequent exposure to advertising) influences the frequency of consumption of soft drinks, some sweets and snacks, and some fast foods among children and young adolescents. Efforts to curtail the amount of time children spend watching TV may result in better dietary habits and weight control for children and adolescents.”
Not coincidentally, food products/fast food restaurants rank #1 for TV advertisements to kids.
So here’s my proposal…
A new diet. One where the TV stays off. All day.
What do you think?
