How much TV do you watch on a daily basis? Depending on how much, it can affect your lifespan.

A new Australian study published in the Aug. 15 edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that people who watch too much television live shorter lives. Researchers discovered that six hours of television a day can shorten a person's life by as much as five years as compared to people who watched no television.

Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine commented, saying "As a rule, the more time we spend watching TV, the more time we spend eating mindlessly in front of the TV, and the less time we spend being physically active."

The study from the University of Queensland found that after age, the average lifespan shortens as we watch television, by about 22 minutes per hour.

"More eating and less physical activity, in turn, mean greater risk for obesity, and the chronic diseases it tends to anticipate notably diabetes, heart disease and cancer," said Dr. Katz. He continued, saying that there's a trend with people who watch excessive television to have feelings of depression which may be linked to a shortened lifespan.

Without TV, researchers estimated life expectancy for men would be 1.8 years longer and for women, 1.5 years longer.

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