Bingeing On TV Shows Leads To… More Exercise?

People who binge-watch entire seasons of their favourite TV shows are more likely to exercise while watching, according to a new Netflix study. Viewers who stick to weekly televised schedules, meanwhile, tend to remain on the couch. Hmm.

[credit provider=”HBO” url=”http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones”]

In a poll of 1000 Netflix customers in the US, over 50 percent claimed to regularly exercise while binge-watching TV. 45 per cent of respondents also indicated that they would be more motivated to exercise if they had access to their favorite TV shows on-demand and commercial free while working out.

Sitcoms were the main choice for shows to watch while exercising (36%) followed by serialised dramas (27%), sci-fi shows (24%) and reality TV (20%).

According to “celebrity fitness expert” and Netflix ambassador Harley Pasternak, cardio feels easier and less boring when done in front of the TV, which explains the bingeing/exercising phenomenon.

“Not only does it make your workouts easier, but you end up looking forward to them more,” Pasternak reckons. “If you can only watch Breaking Bad when you’re on the treadmill, you’re going to find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day to workout.”

We feel it’s worth noting that Netflix has a vested interest here: the ability to binge-watch TV shows at a time of your choosing is one of the company’s main drawcards. A cynical soul might accuse this study of being an unconvincing attempt to counter the plethora of health concerns about watching too much TV.

Then again, Kotaku editor Mark Serrels is a bit of a health-nut and he reckons the findings are pretty on the money.

How much does TV watching factor into your exercise regime (if at all)? Let us know in the comments section below.


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