Watching too much television can make you feel a bit brain-dead. According to a new study, it might also take years off your life.
The more time you spend watching TV, the greater your risk of dying at an earlier age—especially from heart disease, researchers found.
The study followed almost 9000 adults with no history of heart disease for more than six years. Compared to those who watched less than two hours of TV per day, people who watched four hours or more were 80% more likely to die from heart disease and 46% more likely to die from any cause.
Each additional hour spent in front of the TV increased the risk of dying from heart disease by 18% and the overall risk of death by 11%, according to the study, which was published today on the website of Circulation, an American Heart Association journal. (The study will appear in the Jan. 26 print edition.)
The pattern held even after the researchers took into account the education level and overall health of the participants—their age, whether they smoked, and their cholesterol and blood pressure, for example.
Television isn’t lethal in and of itself; the real problem appears to be that sitting is the “default position” for TV viewing. Prolonged watching of television equals a lot of sitting, which invariably means there’s an absence of muscle movement. If your muscles stay inactive for too long, it can disrupt your metabolism.
What’s more, exercise doesn’t necessarily make up for long sessions in front of the tube. When they compared groups of adults who exercised the same amount but watched varying amounts of TV, those who watched more TV were still at a higher risk of dying during the study.
You can be active and also watch high amounts of television. Television isn’t necessarily replacing exercise time, but it is replacing everyday, “non-sweaty” movements as basic as standing and walking from room to room. The positive health effects of these seemingly negligible activities are underestimated, according to the research.
Previous studies have reported a link between sitting time and the risk of heart disease and death, but this is the first to focus on television watching, which is one of the most common leisure activities. Adults in Australia, where the study was conducted, average about three hours a day; in the United States, the average has been estimated at up to five hours.
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Written by Caduceus Medical Group
Caduceus is a community based multi-specialty medical group practice and health care management company. Caduceus is owned by its doctors and is unique in its independence from interference by health plans or hospitals. Caduceus utilizes guaranteed access to care as a cornerstone of its philosophy. SAME DAY VISITS and ONLINE CONCIERGE SERVICES services are an example of the innovative approach Caduceus takes to the delivery of health care. Visit our website at www.caduceusmedicalgroup.com to learn more about us! Become a fan on Facebook/search: Caduceus Medical Group. Follow us on Twitter@caduceusmedical.
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