Senior Citizens May Be Significantly Shortening
Lives by Too Much Time Watching TV
New study focused on television watching but
suggests any prolonged sedentary behavior, such as sitting at a desk or
in front of a computer, may pose a health risk, too
Jan. 11, 2010 - Self destruction, if not against
the law in most states, is certainly frowned upon everywhere. But, it
does not stop senior citizens from watching television over 200 hours a
month, which, according to a new study, increases their risk of death
from cardiovascular disease about 36 percent – and about 22 percent from
all causes.
Utah scientist reports on emerging importance of
telomeres in aging, cancer and maybe immortality; seniors with short
telomeres most likely to die – see below
story
Seniors, America’s leading couch potatoes beware,
watch television more than any other age group. The new research says
every hour of television watched per day may increase the risk of dying
earlier from cardiovascular disease, according to research reported in
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Australian researchers tracked the lifestyle habits
of 8,800 adults and found that each hour spent in front of the
television daily was associated with:
● an 11 percent increased risk of death from all causes,
● a 9 percent increased risk of cancer death; and
● an 18 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related
death.
Compared with people who watched less than two
hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day
had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent
increased risk for CVD-related death.
This association held regardless of other
independent and common cardiovascular disease risk factors, including
smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, unhealthy diet,
excessive waist circumference, and leisure-time exercises.
While the study focused specifically on television
watching, the findings suggest that any prolonged sedentary behavior,
such as sitting at a desk or in front of a computer, may pose a risk to
one’s health.
The study found…
Every hour spent
in front of the television per day brings with it an 11 percent
greater risk of premature death from all causes, and an 18
percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
The findings
apply to both obese and overweight people as well as people with
a healthy weight because prolonged periods of sitting have an
unhealthy influence on blood sugar and blood fat levels.
The human body was designed to move, not sit for
extended periods of time, said David Dunstan, Ph.D., the study’s lead
author and professor and Head of the Physical Activity Laboratory in the
Division of Metabolism and Obesity at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes
Institute in Victoria, Australia.
“What has happened is that 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,” Dunstan said.
“Technological, social, and economic changes mean
that people don’t move their muscles as much as they used to -
consequently the levels of energy expenditure as people go about their
lives continue to shrink. 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.”
Dunstan said the findings apply not only to
individuals who are overweight and obese, but also those who have a
healthy weight.
“Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting
for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood
sugar and blood fats,” he said.
Although the study was conducted in Australia,
Dunstan said the findings are certainly applicable to Americans.
Average daily television watching is approximately
three hours in Australia and the United Kingdom, and up to eight hours
in the United States, where two-thirds of all adults are either
overweight or obese.
The benefits of exercise have been long
established, but researchers wanted to know what happens when people sit
too much. Television-watching is the most common sedentary activity
carried out in the home.
Researchers interviewed 3,846 men and 4,954 women
age 25 and older who underwent oral glucose-tolerance tests and provided
blood samples so researchers could measure biomarkers such as
cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Participants were enrolled from 1999–2000 and
followed through 2006. They reported their television-viewing habits for
the previous seven days and were grouped into one of three categories:
those who watched less than two hours per day; those who watched between
two and four hours daily; and those who watched more than four hours.
People with a history of CVD were excluded from the
study. During the more than six-year follow-up, there were 284 deaths —
87 due to CVD and 125 due to cancer.
The association between cancer and television
viewing was only modest, researchers reported. However, there was a
direct association between the amount of television watched and elevated
CVD death as well as death from all causes even after accounting for
typical CVD risk factors and other lifestyle factors. The implications
are simple, Dunstan said. “In addition to doing regular exercise, avoid
sitting for prolonged periods and keep in mind to ‘move more, more
often’. Too much sitting is bad for health.”
Co-authors are: E. L. M. Barr, Ph.D.; G. N. Healy,
Ph.D.; J. Salmon, Ph.D.; J. E. Shaw, M.D.; B. Balkau, Ph.D.; D. J.
Magliano, Ph.D.; A. J. Cameron, Ph.D.; P. Z. Zimmet, Ph.D. and N. Owen,
Ph.D. Author disclosures and funding sources are on the manuscript.
Nielson Study Finds Seniors Leading the Nation in TV
Watching
Nielsen’s Anywhere Anytime Media Measurement
initiative (A2/M2 – Q1, 2009) shows that the average American every
month watches approximately 153 hours of TV at home. In addition, the
131 million Americans who watch video on the Internet watch on average
about 3 hours of video online each month at home or work. The 13.4
million Americans who watch video on mobile phones watch on average
about3 ½ hours of mobile video each month. (Read
the report)
Every hour spent in front of the television per
day brings with it an 11 percent greater risk of premature death from
all causes, and an 18 percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular
disease.
The findings apply to both obese and overweight
people as well as people with a healthy weight because prolonged periods
of sitting have an unhealthy influence on blood sugar and blood fat
levels.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Jan. 11, 2010 - Self destruction, if not against
the law in most states, is certainly frowned upon everywhere. But, it
does not stop senior citizens from watching television over 200 hours a
month, which, according to a new study, increases their risk of death
from cardiovascular disease about 36 percent – and about 22 percent from
all causes.
Participants were enrolled from 1999–2000 and
followed through 2006. They reported their television-viewing habits for
the previous seven days and were grouped into one of three categories:
those who watched less than two hours per day; those who watched between
two and four hours daily; and those who watched more than four hours.