Watching lots of television in middle age has been linked to a decline in brain health.
Brain Scans
Findings presented at a conference in the US explained that people who said they spent moderate to high amounts of time in front of the TV performed less well in cognitive tests than those who spent less time glued to the screen.
It was also revealed that frequent TV watchers had lower volumes of grey matter, which is typically seen as a marker of worse brain performance.
Dr. Priya Palta, from Columbia University, said that the research shows that many cases of dementia could be prevented or delayed by people making simple lifestyle changes.
Palta added: "Our findings suggest that the amount of television viewing, a type of sedentary behaviour, may be related to cognitive decline and imaging markers of brain health."