I Want My Asthma TV

According to a new study out of the University of Glasgow, watching too much TV could increase a child's risk of developing asthma. We all know that some shows (Family Guy) actually release lung-strangling fumes of pure shit when watched, but that has nothing to do with the asthma risk. No, it's thought that sedentary behavior can alter a child's breathing patterns in such a way that his or her lungs undergo developmental changes. This particular study found that children who watched more than two hours of TV per day had twice the risk of developing asthma than those who watched less. But if the sedentary behavior hypothesis is true, that means any activity involving very little activity could have the same effect--including, I assume, sitting in a school desk for seven hours a day. More details here. And on a related note, whoever's running the Reuters photo file must have had a little fun with this story. The photo they attached (which you can see on the left) appears to show a child watching some harmless Disney program, but that's actually a screen grab from a Palenstinian show called Children's Club, where a Mickey Mouse ripoff teaches youngsters to drink their milk and wage jihad against the Jews. Adorable.