TV viewing may cut life expectancy
Tuesday August 16th, 2011
"Telly addicts", who spend all day flipping channels, may find themselves deprived of up to five years of viewing because of their habit, researchers warned today.
A
significant number of people watch as much as six hours a day - but they
could be cutting their life expectancy by as much as five years, according
to the new findings.
Researchers, reporting in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, said chronic TV-watching was as dangerous to health as smoking and being obese.
The findings come from a study of more than 11,000 people in Australia conducted over a ten year period.
The researchers concluded that about 16 million over-25s in Australia watched some 9.8 billion hours of television in 2008 - an average of less than two hours each. They then estimated the impact on life expectancy based on research on the effects of sedentary behaviour.
Researcher Dr Lennert Veerman, of Queensland University, said: "If these are confirmed and shown to reflect a causal association, TV viewing is a public health problem comparable in size to established behavioural risk factors."
Maureen Talbot, <!a specialist heart nurse> of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Sedentary behaviour such as vegging in front of the TV is practically a cultural institution these days and it’s good to relax for a while, but this study supports the view that too much of it can be bad for our health.
“Many of us make a conscious decision not to smoke because we know it’s bad for us, and this study suggests that more of us should make the same kind of pledge about lounging around and watching lots of TV.
“Introducing more activity to our daily lives, whether it’s walking to the shops instead of taking the bus, using the stairs instead of the lift or taking up active hobbies like sport or gardening mean we won’t spend as much time in front of the TV where we’re likely to pile on the pounds."
* A second study today highlights the benefits of taking just 15 minutes of physical activity daily.
Reporting in The Lancet, researchers from Taiwan, say daily exercise can increase life expectancy by three years and cut the risk of death by 14 per cent.
The findings come from a study of more than 400,000 people in Taiwan, led by Dr Chi-Pang Wen, of the country's National Health Research Institutes.
Ms Talbot said: "This research was encouraging because it showed that even exercising for 15 minutes a day at a low intensity is still better than doing nothing. It could prove helpful for anyone who finds exercise daunting and needs some motivation, especially as getting started can be the hardest part.
"However, the findings also showed the more exercise you do, the better. Everyone should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on five or more days a week."
Television viewing time and reduced life expectancy: a life table analysis. J Lennert Veerman et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine August 15 2011 doi:10.1136/bjsm.2011.085662
Tags: Asia | Australia | Fitness | Heart Health | UK News
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