Now here is another reason for you to turn off your TV set and get your body moving:

People who spend more than two hours per day of leisure time watching television or sitting in front of a screen face double the risk of heart disease and higher risk of dying, said a study Monday.

Come to think of it, isn’t 2 hours of TV daily too much? Unless of course you have exercise videos that you follow everyday 😀

I remember having a big row with my grandmother about this many years before. She turns on the TV at around 8am, and doesn’t turn it off until about 10pm (when she goes to bed).  I suggested that she stop this habit of hers and go get some light exercise (like a short walk to and from the church). She didn’t take it too lightly and we had a sort of word war because she feels I am taking her ‘vice’ away from her.

Sometime after that, she had a stroke which left her semi-paralyzed. She has also lost her ability to speak. Now, talking to her is like being in Eat Bulaga’s “Pinoy Henyo”. You tell her something, she answers you with: oo, hindi, ewan. Of course, she also has other words in her vocabulary like “kain” and “psst”, but you get the point.

I am sure there are lots of better (and more fun) things to do at home than just watching TV. Go out and take a short walk. It feels really good, especially these days when the nights are really cool. When you get home, you’ll feel refreshed and you can sleep like a baby later.

Of course, things such as vices and  preexisting health conditions are also risk factors for heart disease. L ike in my lola’s case, not only was she “exercise averse”, but she also loved to eat things that her doctor told her not to eat. Tigas ulo eh 😀

Her sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits may or may not be the main cause why she suffered from stroke or why she has hypertension in the first place. But still the least we can do is to not further aggravate our chances of getting diseases or worse, dying early. 

Everything in moderation. Live healthy!

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