Remember when your parents told you that sitting too close to the TV was bad for your eyes? Well watching too much boob tube may be even worse for your health.It’s no surprise that TV and computer time are contributing to the current obesity epidemic. Americans watch about 5 hours of TV a day, averaging over 150 hours each month. Add to that additional time in front of the computer. No doubt, we’ve become an increasingly sedentary culture. Those who fit in some exercise each week figure they are counteracting their time spent vegging out in front of a screen, right?Not necessarily. We know there are lots of good reasons to exercise: weight management, improved mood, cardiovascular health, lowered risk of diabetes and osteoporosis, improved energy levels, better sleep, improved sex life, reduced cancer risk, elevated good cholesterol, and even improved brain function. Now, an alarming new study determined that even for regular exercisers, the risk of death increased the more TV they watched. Published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, the study tracked 8,800 people for an average of 6.6 years to compare health outcomes with self-reported TV viewing times. The participants averaged 50 years of age and 30-45 minutes of exercise per day. After six years of follow-up, 284 participants died, including 87 from cardiovascular disease and 125 from cancer.Risk of death for those who averaged less than 2 hours of TV time per day was compared to the risk resulting from each additional hour of viewing time; results were adjusted for factors such as age, sex, waist circumference, and exercise. For those who boob-tubed greater than 2 and less than 4 hours, the increased risk of death from all causes was 13% higher, compared to those who watched TV more. If participants logged greater than 4 hours a day, their risk increased by 46% compared to TV-watchers clocking less than 2 hours. Compared to all causes, cardiovascular disease was the most likely cause of death.So how can this be? What is it about watching TV that creates such risk even among those who exercise? Study researchers feel that it’s not the loss of vigorous exercise that’s the issue. After all, study participants had regular vigorous exercise. Rather, it’s the lack of moving around experienced in our daily activities – which is lost in front of the TV – that increases risk for death. It seems humans weren’t designed to sink inert into a couch for hours on end staring at a point in space. One clue comes from an emerging field of research. Prolonged periods of inactivity appear to affect how the body processes fats. An enzyme that removes fat from the blood and converts it to fuel shuts down within hours of cessation of activity. Consequently, fat accumulates in the blood where it can damage the lining of our arteries. It’s possible that simple periodic moving around, getting the muscles moving and picking up our heart rate may provide some measure of protection from this shut down in fat processing.So if you can’t give up the tube, then make sure you get up and occasionally shuffle about to get the blood flowing. Of course, you can always try to replace TV time with something a bit more active and productive. See All House Calls by Dr. Geehr.
Still have questions? Contact firstname.lastname@example.org. We are happy to assist you!
The #1 daily resource for health and lifestyle news!
Your daily resource for losing weight and staying fit.
We could all use some encouragement now and then - we're human!
Explore your destiny as you discover what's written in your stars.
The latest news, tips and recipes for people with diabetes.
Healthy food that tastes delicious too? No kidding.