For the thousands of parents who watch their rotund children’s flabby arms jiggle with effort as they struggle to lift another Snickers bar to their gaping maws, we have finally found a reason that kids are ever fatter and ever weaker. It’s the TV that dunnit!

Researchers at the University of Montreal followed 1,314 children between the ages of 2.5 and 4.5 years, with parents reporting how much television the kids watched. The average amount of television watched was 8.8 hours per week at the onset of the study, which increased on average by 6 hours over the next two years to reach 14.8 hours per week. Each additional hour of television consumed led to an increase in the children’s waist size and a decrease in their physical fitness.

This study confirms what any reasonable person would conclude by just looking at the weak, lazy, overgrown creatures we call children. They get fatter and lazier each year, but I guess now there are some numbers to back up this obvious fact.

This study comes hot on the heels of a May bombshell that showed children who watched a lot of television ate more junk food.

So what have we learned?

“The bottom line is that watching too much television – beyond the recommended amounts – is not good,” said lead author Dr. Linda Pagani.

She then added that vegetables are good for you, water is wet, and fire is hot.

University of Montreal via TIMEmatsuyuki/Flickr