Do pensioners sit down watching television too much.

this one doesn't. can""t find anything worth watching on a regular basis.

They are probably thinking of people much older than you HUNTERF .

I don't think we pensioners should all be lumped together in thatbway.

I do watch too much tele some days though

You have got to remember that sometimes the TV is the only company that some people who are alone have, maybe they dont have family that can drop in often through the day or even weekly.

I cope quite happily without a TV - so it looks like I'll be dodging dementia! (interesting correlation in the article though)

I never turn mine on before 7.30pm, I have Radio 4 on. We only have 1 TV, that is in the sitting room and I don't even go in there until after supper!

O'h. I have just had a phone call asking me to take a more distant relative to the hospital.
An appointment has come up for her granddaughter and mother at the same time at hospitals 14 miles apart.
I have offered to take the grandmother as I know more about the medical history even though it is further for me to travel.
The mother is very happy with this arrangement.

Fank

I think its the sitting down rather than the watching too much tv that contributes to health related issues. Keep moving is my motto OH is always asking me why I never sit still for more than 5mins, I'm quite happy listening to the tv whilst pottering .. OH can't be in the house without the tv on so everyone is different I guess.

I never watch daytime telly but because I'm on my own I will watch it in the evening sometimes if there's anything worth watching, but more often than not I watch in bed late at night or in the wee small hours when I can't sleep - you wouldn't believe what rubbish is on in the night! (apart from BBC4 which is very good). What else are elderly, housebound pensioners to do if they have to sit all day and are unable to read or do normal household activities? TV is a diversion, but I agree it does make you zombie like after a while

My elderly friend (85) is mostly housebound and she doesn't have a tv, in the Summer she occupies herself in the garden and in the Winter she does puzzles and quizzes , reads listens to the radio and does small projects around the house, like cleaning out a cupboard or orgainising her kitchen.. she keeps herself occupied one way or another and is as sharp as a tack.

anything that's worth watching can usually be seen online (eg: iplayer) so it seems a bit pointless forking out for a TV license :-)

Ooh - watch out Goose, they'll be onto you!

My sister doesn't have a television, the detector van has rung the doorbell many times. My sister invites them to have a look round the house, feel free to open cupboards and so on. She buys boxed sets of TV series and watches them on a DVD player. I could happily live without our TV but DH would miss the news and football.

do you have to have a licence for a laptop ? you could watch live tv on that. how would they know?

I have git a licence btw. before you send the man round.

This might answer your question jingle

www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/29/watching-tv-computers

My gran is 96 (soon to be 97). She lives alone does all her own cooking and her little bungalow is immaculate. She very rarely watches TV (although occasionally follows football and the news). She loves the radio and spends her time reading, doing puzzles, crosswords and entertaining visitors. She is a wonderful lady who worked hard well into her 70's . She is totally with it and has no sign of dementia infact she always says "someone would have to get up very early to catch me out" !

hmm. they are being canny. relying on people's fear.

I agree with tanith, it's the inactivity that is more likely to lead to health problems. All my elderly relatives watched current affairs programmes and afternoon quizzes well into their nineties. Far from getting dementia they could hold a political discussion with the best of them and their general knowledge was spot on. I'm sure that cheerful daytime programmes help to ward off depression in the lonely and housebound. Although there is no substitute for human contact, surely it's better than nothing?

MIL cannot go out without assistance. She reads in the morning and then watches a lot of TV. No sign of dementia though!
Pensioners is a rather wide category isnt it. And as with most of these "health" articles by journalists I don't suppose they have actually proved any link between TV watching and dementia.
I think physical activity is supposed to be one of the things that helps prevent it , isnt it?

I will watch as much TV as I bloody well like! I record The Wright Stuff whilst I am out on my morning walk, then after lunch I watch several quizzes,then the news, then soaps, Lewis, etc. I doubt if I am in much danger of dementia, but if I am I am sure it won't be because I watch TV whilst I am surfing the net or doing jigsaws.
I love travel, science and wildlife programmes and old movies, plus comedy shows like HIGNFY, Mock the Week and QI.
I am going to have to go cold turkey for six weeks in New Zealand, as my plan of watching it on-line won't work as Kindle Fire does not support Flashplayer! Still, I can read the synopses and catch up when I get home.
I manage to read a great deal too, often at the same time as watching TV.
Now it is time for Doctors, so I will log off!

I'm gonna miss Privates. If they bring that back I will watch it.

You don't have/need a TV license if you don't have a TV. I let the licensing folk know online that I have no TV. You don't need a license to catch up on programmes online...it just means you can't watch it 'live' but there's a 24hr BBC News site that can be looked at anytime. I weighed up how often I watched TV, which was occasionally the 6-00 news and worked out how much it cost me to watch it, calculating c£13 a month license (as it was then). I decided I'd rather keep the c£130 a year TV license fee and watch the occasional programme online.. The £100+ I would have spent has gone towards treating myself to things that I really wanted

We are slumped in front of the telly with steaming mugs of soup. DH is watching a fishing programme and I will then switch over to Escape to the Country. The quizzes will then follow taking us up to the 6pm News. Do we feel guilty that we've been driven indoors by the heavy snow? Like hell we do!

Well said, Greatnan. I could have written your piece word for word except for the New Zealand part. Off to Spain in the Motohome in a couple of weeks and will have the satellite telly on morning and evening.
I have some friends who don't like people to know that they watch Jeramy Kyle.