Serpo
24th June 2010, 11:40 AM
Heart disease risk from watching television, researchers warn
Every hour of TV watched a day increases the risk of dying from heart disease, researchers have found.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Published: 7:50AM BST 24 Jun 2010
British researchers have found that if the average of four hours of television a day in the study were reduced to one hour, then eight per cent of deaths from heart disease could have been prevented.
As Britons are glued to the TV for the World Cup, it was found that every hour of television watched per day increase the risk of dying from heart disease by seven per cent.
The link between TV and heart disease was still strong even when lack of exercise, obesity, diet and smoking were taken into account.
It means that watching TV was independently linked to heart disease and the effect is not simply due to be inactive while watching television.
The research conducted by the Medical Research Council studied more than 13,000 healthy middle aged men and women in Norfolk.
Over the 10 year study, 373 of the 13,197 participants or one in 35 died from heart disease.
Of these deaths 30 could have been prevented if the average person watched one hour of television per day instead of four.
Dr Katrien Wijndaele co-author of the study from the MRC warned: “Our bodies are not designed to sit for long periods and we should be aware that, as we put in the TV-hours watching the World Cup, our risk of heart disease is probably increasing.
"It might seem obvious that watching TV is linked to heart disease but it’s really crucial that we look closely at how our lifestyles affect our health in order to develop more effective ways of improving the health of the nation. This type of research is a crucial part of informing public health advice.
“We need further research to see if other sedentary activities, like sitting behind a computer or in the car, generate the same results. However, we chose to focus on TV as it’s the most widespread sedentary leisure activity where people have an active choice to dramatically change their behaviour.â€Â
Dr Ulf Ekelund, co- author of the study from the Medical Research Council said: “If my normal risk of dying by heart disease was 10 per cent and I also watched four hours of television a day (the national average) my risk would jump to 13 per cent.
“Substituting watching TV and sitting down for exercise such as brisk walking is the ultimate goal, but watching a couple of hours less TV a night and being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day can substantially reduce our risk of heart disease.
“In the future, doctors could use the number of hours spent in front of the TV as part of their assessment of our overall risk of heart disease.â€Â
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Fotini Rozakeas, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study strengthens the argument that sitting for hours on end watching TV is not good for your health. It’s easy to snack on unhealthy foods and slouching on the sofa only burns a few calories.
“People can – and should – enjoy watching their favourite TV programmes or the World Cup without becoming couch potatoes by doing at least 30 minutes physical activity five times a week. This doesn’t need to be a trip to the gym; a walk in the park or taking the stairs at work all help make a difference.â€Â
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7849843/Heart-disease-risk-from-watching-television-researchers-warn.html
Every hour of TV watched a day increases the risk of dying from heart disease, researchers have found.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Published: 7:50AM BST 24 Jun 2010
British researchers have found that if the average of four hours of television a day in the study were reduced to one hour, then eight per cent of deaths from heart disease could have been prevented.
As Britons are glued to the TV for the World Cup, it was found that every hour of television watched per day increase the risk of dying from heart disease by seven per cent.
The link between TV and heart disease was still strong even when lack of exercise, obesity, diet and smoking were taken into account.
It means that watching TV was independently linked to heart disease and the effect is not simply due to be inactive while watching television.
The research conducted by the Medical Research Council studied more than 13,000 healthy middle aged men and women in Norfolk.
Over the 10 year study, 373 of the 13,197 participants or one in 35 died from heart disease.
Of these deaths 30 could have been prevented if the average person watched one hour of television per day instead of four.
Dr Katrien Wijndaele co-author of the study from the MRC warned: “Our bodies are not designed to sit for long periods and we should be aware that, as we put in the TV-hours watching the World Cup, our risk of heart disease is probably increasing.
"It might seem obvious that watching TV is linked to heart disease but it’s really crucial that we look closely at how our lifestyles affect our health in order to develop more effective ways of improving the health of the nation. This type of research is a crucial part of informing public health advice.
“We need further research to see if other sedentary activities, like sitting behind a computer or in the car, generate the same results. However, we chose to focus on TV as it’s the most widespread sedentary leisure activity where people have an active choice to dramatically change their behaviour.â€Â
Dr Ulf Ekelund, co- author of the study from the Medical Research Council said: “If my normal risk of dying by heart disease was 10 per cent and I also watched four hours of television a day (the national average) my risk would jump to 13 per cent.
“Substituting watching TV and sitting down for exercise such as brisk walking is the ultimate goal, but watching a couple of hours less TV a night and being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day can substantially reduce our risk of heart disease.
“In the future, doctors could use the number of hours spent in front of the TV as part of their assessment of our overall risk of heart disease.â€Â
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Fotini Rozakeas, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study strengthens the argument that sitting for hours on end watching TV is not good for your health. It’s easy to snack on unhealthy foods and slouching on the sofa only burns a few calories.
“People can – and should – enjoy watching their favourite TV programmes or the World Cup without becoming couch potatoes by doing at least 30 minutes physical activity five times a week. This doesn’t need to be a trip to the gym; a walk in the park or taking the stairs at work all help make a difference.â€Â
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7849843/Heart-disease-risk-from-watching-television-researchers-warn.html