TELEVISION VIEWING AND PHYSICAL-FITNESS IN ADULTS

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which time spent watching television is associated with cardiovascular fitness among 8, 85 adults. Potential confounding effects of age, gender, smoking, length of work week, time reported exercising each week, and obesity were also examined. Subjects who watched TV more than 4 hours per day (frequent viewers) were 037 times as likely to be physically fit as those who watched TV less than 1 hour per day (infrequent viewers) with age and gender controlled. Similarly, adults who watched TV 3-4 hours per day (moderately frequent viewers) were 0.45 times as likely to befit as infrequent watchers. Adjustment for potential confounders, particularly measured body fat and reported exercise duration in combination, weakened the TV viewing/fitness relation moderately. Given the findings of this study and the results ofprevious research, caution should be exercised regarding excessive television viewing. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.