Increased daily TV viewing is significantly associated with increased chronic pain, doctors from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute have concluded. The work was published in the journal BMC Public Health. The scientists analyzed data from the large Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab), which lasted 12 years. The 4,000 participants took a survey several times in which they rated their level of chronic pain on a 100-point scale (0 meant severe bodily pain and 100 meant no bodily pain). The study showed that as the average daily TV viewing time increased, bodily pain increased. For example, the average bodily pain score for those aged 50 at the beginning of the study was 77 and decreased by 0.3 units per year with natural aging. An increase of one hour of television viewing time resulted in a 0.7 unit increase in pain. Pain scores in people living with type II diabetes were even more pronounced. According to scientists, this correlation is related to a sedentary lifestyle. Increasing physical activity is fundamental to preventing and treating chronic health problems.