“Studies have shown a strong correlation between numbers of hours spent watching TV per day and rates of obesity in both adults and children.”-- John Geddes, Jonathan Price, and Rebecca Mcknight, Psychiatry, Oxford University Press, Fourth Edition, 2012. pp. 352-353.
There might be a correlation between them, but I suspect there is no causal relationship. Of course, “sedentary lifestyle” could include watching TV for long hours a day.
There’s of course the issue of fastfood too… and (speculation alert) people in developed countries have a more passive lifestyle. In a developed country being physically active costs money. I don’t watch TV myself but I use the computer a lot, which makes me quite passive I suppose. I am not obese though.
“Average American watches 5 hours of TV per day, report shows”
“Table 11. Time spent in leisure and sports activities for the civilian population by selected characterics” http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t11.htm
This table shows that average hours per day on weekdays spent in watching TV is 2.76 for men.
“Average American watches 5 hours of TV per day, report shows”
I remember taking part in one of these surveys a long time ago. They sent us $5 cash to have us report our TV habits for a week.
Growing up, I’d watch around 10-14 hours a week, because that was my entertainment. No internet. Today, while in college I probably spend about 3 hours a week, if I’m lucky. And that’s streaming services like Netflix and HBO. I’m pretty sure that counts though.
Upper classes have better access to food and better form of entertainment. Going to Aspen, Colorado for a ski trip is more expensive than a Netflix subscription. Also, in this country, we subsidize unhealthy food choices. It’s cheaper and quicker to buy McDonalds than it is to make a fresh meal.
Edit: Though my statement applies, I should also note that my stereotype isn’t always accurate. Not all rich people go to exotic trips to get exercise and not all poor people sit around and watch TV.
My computer is essential for my language activities (communicating on websites, skyping etc.) but it’s not good for my physical fitness to use my computer a lot. Watching TV is rather unimportant for me, it’s all in German and I don’t have digital TV or satelite TV with programs from foreign countries.
I don’t watch internet TV videos, only my analog cable TV with programs in German and only 1 program in Dutch. (I had CNN, BBC World and TV5 only in the past).
where can I watch german tv shows and movies in the US?
It won’t let me buy them on itunes and I would love to watch the german versions of other popular movies and shows as well, but my computer won’t seem to let me.