Connecting the dots

Hmmm... wonder if these news stories could be related?

The average American home now has more television sets than people.

That threshold was crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.

With televisions now on buses, elevators and in airport lobbies, that development may have as much to do with TV's ubiquity as an appliance as it does conspicuous consumption. The popularity of flat-screen TVs now make it easy to put sets where they haven't been before.

Really? A lot of those TVs must end up in the kids' rooms:

The amount of time the average American spends watching television is up slightly while a more significant rise is seen in how long teens and children are in front of the tube, Nielsen Media Research reported Thursday.

For the year-long season that ended Sept. 17, the average person spent a record four hours and 35 minutes a day watching TV, up by three minutes. The average household watched eight hours and 14 minutes of TV a day, also a rise of three minutes.

Eight hours a day of TV... but there's "not enough time" in the day for sleep or exercise:

At my weight management clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the first questions I ask my patients is if they’re getting enough sleep. The typical response is usually “terrible,” “not enough,” “I’m up all night,” “I have no time,” or “I’m always tired.” So when I work out a weight-loss plan for these patients, I stress that they get enough sleep. Recent scientific studies show a strong relationship between sleep deprivation and weight gain...

So, there you have it: turning off the TV can save you money (no expensive flat screens all over the house), give you time to sleep, and help prevent weight gain. Considering most of the content on the tube these days, I'd say turning it off would also avoid I.Q. loss.