Jared Tucker, lecturer of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, presented research at the National Obesity Society conference in Washington, D.C. The title of his presentation is "Intensity of Physical Activity and Television Viewing Habits of Women."

"Television viewing is a good indicator of sedentary behavior. It is often perceived that sedentary behavior is the antithesis of physical activity, but the two behaviors are not necessarily mutually exclusive," Tucker says. "There are many people who view a lot of TV and still perform a considerable amount of physical activity. Likewise, there are many individuals who watch very little TV, but also perform little physical activity.

The study examined the relationship between physical activity intensity and TV viewing in a group of 273 middle-aged women. Tucker found that frequent TV viewers spend significantly more time engaged in low physical activity intensity and significantly less time involved in moderate and vigorous physical activity intensity compared to their counterparts.