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We here at ShrinkGeek walk a fine editorial tightrope when it comes to sermonizing about the “evils” of the sedentary activities we all share a common love for. Let’s face it, folks. The chips are stacked against us in the whole healthy lifestyle realm. You aren’t very likely to see an elevated heart rate for extended period as a result of playing games or watching movies. That being said, we also recognize that it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in the things that we love if we do so sensibly and take the time to balance out other activities that aren’t quite so…passive.

The main problem with this issue is that it is hard to quantify just how “bad” for you sedentary activities are. We all should be able to recognize that someone who never exercises and spends all their time in front of a computer or television is not likely to be a healthy person, but it’s never been easy to put a finger on how much is “too much” when it comes to these activities. Is two hours of television or computer use a night too much? Three? What if you spend all day in front of a computer for your job? There are a lot of hard questions revolving around these scenarios and no easy answers to be found.

In an effort to put some real numbers to these situations, a group of researchers from Australia did a study of 8,800 men and women over the age of 25 to determine where the line is when it comes to sedentary activities and their impact on someone’s health. What they found was, frankly, a bit on the startling side. Individuals involved in the study who watched four or more hours of television every day were 80% more likely to die from heart disease – and 46% more likely to die from general causes – than those who watched less than 2 hours of television daily. What’s more, is that those numbers took into account factors like smoking, high blood pressure, unhealthy diets, and leisure time exercise.

In other words, even if you eat well, exercise, and don’t smoke, the simple act of watching television four or more hours a day could possibly have a serious impact on your health. Regardless of whether or not we heed the “Don’t try this at home” warnings on every episode, it’s still hazardous to sit down for an entire Mythbusters marathon, or sequential viewing of the original Star Wars trilogy. Anything more than a single Director’s Cut installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is, much like counting to five, right out.

The easiest way to counter these nasty side effects is to, quite simply, move more. Take a break from sitting in front of the television or computer every hour or so and stretch or march in place. Do some jumping jacks. Take the stairs at work instead of using the elevator. Find a way to break up your routine so that you don’t spend long periods of time being completely inert, and you could seriously increase your chances of living long enough to prosper.