TV time shortens life, study suggests

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TV time shortens life, study suggests

Mon Jan 11, 3:32 PM

PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - Spending more time sitting in front of the TV

increases the risk of an early death from heart disease, regardless of your

weight, researchers in Australia suggest.

The team followed 3,846 men and 4,954 women, average age 50, who did not have a

history of cardiovascular disease.

For about seven years, researchers monitored blood pressure, cholesterol levels

and TV habits.

Each hour spent sitting in front of the TV per day raised a person's risk of

death from cardiovascular disease by 18 per cent and the risk of dying for all

causes by 11 per cent, of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

in and his colleagues reported in Monday's online issue of the journal

Circulation, published by the American Heart Association.

" A lot of the normal activities of daily living that involved standing up and

moving the muscles in the body have been converted to sitting, " said in

a statement.

" For many people, on a daily basis, they simply shift from one chair to another

from the chair in the car to the chair in the office to the chair in front of

the television. "

Researchers found the increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in

those watching four or more hours of television per day compared with less than

two hours per day after taking traditional risk factors such as smoking, blood

pressure, cholesterol, and diet into account, as well as leisure-time exercise

and waist circumference.

During the course of the study, 284 people died, including 87 from heart disease

and 125 from cancer. Television viewing was a significant predictor of

cardiovascular but not non-cardiovascular mortality, the researchers said.

The team speculated that sedentary behaviour, such as watching TV or sitting in

front of a computer, has an unhealthy influence on how the body burns fuels such

as glucose and fat.

" Although continued emphasis on current public health guidelines on the

importance of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise should remain, our

findings suggest that reducing time spent watching television (and possibly

other prolonged sedentary behaviors) may also be of benefit in preventing

[cardiovascular disease] and premature death, " the study's authors concluded.

suggested that people keep in mind to " move more, more often. "

Television-watching is the most common sedentary activity carried out in the

home, according to previous studies in the U.S., Australia and the United

Kingdom.

The television viewing assessed in the study was based on self-reports, which

may have led to some misclassification, the researchers acknowledged.

The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and several pharmaceutical and

device manufacturers.