Complain about a product or service

Less TV Viewing Equals More Calories Burned

Small behavioral changes may be key to controlling weight

December 16, 2009

• Suit Says 'Biggest Loser' Jillian Michaels' Diet Supplement is 'Worthless' • Degree of Obesity Raises Risk of Stroke • Study: Calorie Postings On Fast Food Menus Help Kids • Pros and Cons of Gastric Bypass Surgery Charted • Weight Watchers Says Jenny Craig Too Big for its Britches • FTC Wins Case Against Marketers of Unproven Weight-Loss Products • Sedentary TV Time May Cut Life Short • Holistic Approach Touted For Those Who Can't Handle Diets • Eating Healthier On A Budget • Researchers Link Proximity to Convenience Stores with Obesity • Less TV Viewing Equals More Calories Burned • Getting A 'Head Start' On Obesity Prevention • Study: Weight Loss Proves Effective Cure For Sleep Apnea • Lower Smoking Rates Offset by Increased Obesity • CSPI: Nickelodeon Ad Content High in Junk Food • CSPI Gives Movie Popcorn Two Thumbs Down • Obesity Causes Over 124,000 New Cancers A Year In Europe • Exercise Minimizes Weight Regain, Study Says • CSPI Slams Domino's New Pasta As Unhealthy 'Food Porn' • FDA Conducting Safety Review Of Weight Loss Drug • Obesity Costs U.S. About $147 Billion Annually • New Insights Gained Into Causes Of Anorexia • CDC Launches Obesity Website • Modest Exercise Can Reduce Negative Effects of Belly Fat • Keep The Faith and Lose The Weight? • Families That Eat Together Means Kids Eating Better • New Factor in Teen Obesity: Parents • Possible Drug Target Found for Obesity Treatment • Weight Management Requires "Lifelong Commitment" • Obama Urged to Tackle Obesity • 5 Tips for Eating Right in 2009 • "All You Can Eat" A Ticket to Obesity • Sour Economy May Affect Eating Habits • Fast Food Has Fewer Calories Than Traditional Restaurant Meals --- • Weight Loss News • Childhood Obesity

Looking for an easy way to control your weight this holiday season? Then turn off TV and leave it off.

A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine says adults who limited TV viewing by half but consumed the same amount of calories burned more calories over a three week period.

Researchers say there's little mystery to their findings. People that aren't spending countless hours on the couch watching TV are generally more active. By being more active, they burn more calories.

Since the average adult watches almost five hours of television per day, researcher say it provides a rich potential for reducing contributing causes of obesity. A program of physical exercises is less necessary, they say, if people would just reduce their sedentary activities. There is hardly a more sedentary activity, they say, than watching TV.

Not only may reducing TV time allow time for more active endeavors, it may also help alleviate chronic sleep deprivation, potentially linked to obesity.

Jennifer J. Otten, Ph.D., R.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial of 36 adults who had a body mass index between 25 and 50 and reported watching at least three hours of TV per day. Between January and July 2008, all participants underwent a three-week observation period during which their daily TV time was assessed.

A group of 20 individuals was then randomly assigned to receive an electronic device that shut off the TV after they had reached a weekly limit of 50 percent of their previously measured TV viewing time. An additional 16 participants served as a control group.

As assessed by an armband measuring physical activity, those with the lock-out systems burned 119 more calories per day during the three-week period. In comparison, the control group burned 95 fewer calories per day during the intervention than during the observation period. Energy balance, the comparison of calories consumed to calories burned, was negative in the intervention group (who consumed 244 calories less than they burned each day) but positive in the control group (who consumed 57 more calories than they burned each day). However, this difference did not reach statistical significance.

"A recent task force report supports small behavior changes as a more sustainable, long-term approach to help address the obesity epidemic," the authors wrote. "It has been estimated that combined increases in energy expenditure and decreases in energy intake equaling only 100 calories per day could prevent the gradual weight gain observed in most of the population."

Previous research with children has found that screen time reductions reduce calories consumed but do not increase calories burned, producing a similar change in energy balance but through a different mechanism, the authors noted.

"This suggests that adults may differ from children in how they respond to reductions in sedentary behaviors," they concluded. "To our knowledge, this is the first study to measure the effects of a TV reduction intervention in adults. Reducing TV viewing should be further explored as a method to reduce and prevent obesity in adults."

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Follow us on Twitter.