[acb-diabetics] death by TV

[Patricia LaFrance-Wolf]

Aussies Say Too Much Tube Time Increases Risk of Death From Cardiovascular
Disease by 80 Percent 

 

Death by TV?

Patrick Totty

Feb 4, 2010 

 

Australian researchers who tracked the TV viewing habits of00208,800 people
over a six-year span have some sobering statistics for people who love the
tube

too well: (1) If you watch TV more than two and up to four hours a day, your
risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increases by 19 percent. (2) If

your viewing habit is more than four hours a day, your risk of death from
cardiovascular disease skyrockets by 80 percent.

 

In fact, every hour beyond two hours of sedentary viewing ups the risk by 18
percent.

 

The Australians, led by David Dunstan from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes
Institute in Melbourne, also found that even if heavy TV viewers routinely 

exercise

 30 or 45 minutes a day, they are just as susceptible to the higher risk of
cardiovascular disease. The reason why, the researchers think, is that
humans

are not built to sit for long periods. Prolonged inactivity affects how the
body metabolizes fats and other substances that increase cardiovascular
risks.

They add that although common wisdom says that regular "heavy sweat"
exercises, like treadmill runs, bike rides, or jogging, can counter the
ill-effects

of too much TV, they really can't.

 

What's needed, the researchers say, is the kind of ordinary "walking around"
things that people do all day long-unloading the dishwasher, fixing a minor

leak, pushing a shopping cart at the supermarket, walking the dog, mowing
the lawn-any routine activity that keeps the body in motion and helps it
metabolize

substances that can quickly accumulate from inactivity.

 

In short, even heavy TV viewers should find ways to keep moving while
they're watching.  These can include standing and folding laundry while
watching,

doing stretching exercises or running in place, or changing channels
manually instead of with a remote-anything that keeps the body moving and
flexible.

 

And it's not just sitting in front of the telly that can contribute to
cardio risks. Riding a commuter bus or train and then sitting at a desk for
eight

hours is an equivalent form of sedentary behavior. Some people mitigate
their risks by walking up and down train aisles or standing on bus rides,
using

their constant small adjustments to bumps and jerks as a low-key form of
exercise.

 

At the office, some people use adjustable-height desks that allow them to
stand as they work, shifting from one foot to another and allowing free
blood

flow in their legs. 

 

Subjects averaged 50 years of age when the study began in 1999-2000.  The
study results were recently published in 

Circulation

 magazine.

 

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