Research
Energy balance
Reducing TV viewing time can lead to improvements in BMI, energy intake, and energy expenditure in short-term experimental settings.
If you cut your TV time in half, you will likely eat less and burn more energy, even without starting a new exercise routine. This is a simple lever to pull for weight management.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Three randomized controlled trials have shown beneficial effects of reducing TV viewing time... reducing TV viewing and computer time by 50% over 2 years resulted in a significant reduction of BMI and energy intake... a significant increase in objectively measured energy expenditure was observed.
Why this rating
Small sample sizes (N=36 to N=192) and short durations (2 weeks to 2 years) compared to the large cohort studies.
Source
Television Viewing and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and All-Cause Mortality
Anders Grøntved · JAMA · 2011
DOI 10.1001/jama.2011.812
Meta-analysis · 8 studiesCited 866×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Prolonged television viewing (sedentary behavior) is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality.Good
- The association between TV viewing and health risks is partially mediated by diet and obesity (BMI), but an independent risk remains after adjusting for these factors.Good
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