In a not so surprising study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers have found a correlation between the time spent sitting on the couch watching television, and unhealthy behavior in general.
During the study, over 200 adults were assigned one of 4 different lifestyle treatments. These treatments were:
- Increase fruit and vegetable intake and exercise
- Decrease fat and sedentary leisure
- Decrease fat and increasing exercise
- Increase fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing sedentary behavior.
The participants were asked to stick to the changes for 3 weeks and report their progress. Researchers found that 86% of the participants continued to try to keep up with the changes after the study was over.
A lead author in the study, Bonnie Spring, is quoted as saying:
The key take-away is that people can change their unhealthy eating and activity behaviors, contrary to what many health professionals believe. By focusing on just two targets (increasing fruits/vegetables and cutting down leisure screen time) people were able to make large changes in those behaviors rapidly and they also reduced saturated fat intakes without even trying."
So get off the couch and the healthy living just might follow.
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