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People who watch TV for three hours or more each day may be twice as likely to die prematurely than those who watch less, a new study says.

Researchers of the American Heart Association assessed 13,284 young and healthy Spanish university graduates to determine the association between three types of sedentary behaviour and risk of death from all causes: television viewing time, computer accessing and driving time, Xinhua reported.

The study showed that the risk of death was twofold higher for participants who reported watching three or more hours of TV a day compared to those watching one or less hours.

The researchers found no significant association between the time spent using a computer or driving and higher risk of premature death from all causes.

They said further studies are needed to confirm what effects may exist between computer use and driving on death rates, and to determine the biological mechanisms explaining these associations.

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