Too much TV, too little exercise associated with depression

Want to prevent or reduce depression? There are two things you should consider: (1) dramatically reduce your TV time, and (2) increase your physical activity.Reuters reports that according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, older women who engaged in more physical activity and spent fewer hours watching television were not nearly as likely to be depressed as those who were more sedentary and spent more hours in front of the TV set.
Researchers arrived at these conclusions after analyzing data from the US Nurses’ Health Study.
In particular, spending three or more hours daily watching television was associated with a 13% increased likelihood of depression, and exercising 90 minutes or more daily was associated with a 20% lower likelihood of depression.
The bottom line is that there is almost nothing healthy that occurs when watching TV. If you have a choice of TV or just about any other activity (reading, physical activity, visiting with friends, calling a friend, serving, volunteering, meditation, quiet time, writing, journaling, etc.) the OTHER activity will be more healthy.
I have a number of blogs with practical tips about TV and kids: