I'm currently reading The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn. Although it's not primarily a health book, I did find evidence that shows that television watching decreases metabolism.
"A researcher at Memphis State University monitored the metabolic rates of children watching a regular children's TV program and discovered that as they watched, their metabolic rates dropped to a level somewhere between resting and sleeping. Had they been simply sitting and doing nothing at all, their level would have been significantly higher. The effect was even greater for children already overweight. Since the metabolic rate measures the number of calories a person uses up over time, this finding demonstrates that it's not merely a matter of TV watching displacing some form of exercise that encourages obesity. By reducing the metabolic rate, the act of TV watching itself makes kids more likely to become fat." (pp. 42-43)
And that's just one of five negative health effects the author links to TV watching!
Another point to note: the author's focus is on children, but that doesn't mean adults are exempt from this decrease in metabolism.
So—if you'd like an instant increase in metabolism, simply turn off the TV and do nothing. Even better, turn off the TV and do something... like exercise. :-)
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