Average TV viewing time for adults is over four hours a day and over three hours a day for children.
TV viewing is the most frequent sedentary activity among adults. The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents has increased dramatically over the past thirty years and currently, more than 11 million children and teenagers are overweight. It has been well documented that a strong association exists between the hours of TV watched and the degree of obesity in children and adolescents. In fact, those who watch more than five hours of TV per day tend to be extremely obese. Whether obesity is due to genetic or environmental factors, adolescent obesity frequently persists into adulthood where it becomes much more difficult to treat.