Binge watching TV is seriously bad for your health

A study of more than 8,900 adults in Australia has found that every additional hour you spend binge watching a TV show, was associated with a 12 per cent increase in the risk of an inflammatory related death.

Sitting on your bottom watching hours and hours of television, while eating 'sharer' bags of chocolate discounted to £1 is increasing your chances of ill health - who knew?

The study, published in the journal of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise began the study in 1999, measuring the viewing habits of 8,900 people.

Returning to them 12 years on, they found that 909 had died, and of these 130 were inflammatory-related.

Inflammatory diseases cover a wide range of illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, asthma, diabetes, kidney diseases.

Those who watched two to four hours of TV per day had a 54 per cent higher risk of inflammatory-related death.

According to lead author, Dr Megan Grace, those watching more TV had other lifestyle factors in common:

Those who spent more time watching TV were older, less likely to have completed at least 12 years of education, had lower household income, were more likely to be current or ex-smokers, more likely to have diabetes or hypertension, and had a more adverse overall health profile. High TV viewers also had a lower diet quality

The study's authors previously revisited the participants after seven years, and at the time found 80 per cent of people who watched more than four hours per day were 80 per cent more likely to die of a cardiovascular disease.

According to The Telegraph, it also found that the association between sedentary viewing and cardiovascular diseases held regardless of smoking and high blood pressures.

HT News Au

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