Published:
20 ago 2024 20:10 GMT
A study found that more than five hours of TV a day is associated with less gray matter and smaller memory centers, both linked to brain diseases.
A large database analysis has concluded that there is a relationship between the time spent watching television and the likelihood of developing neurodegenerative diseases in middle age and old age.
The study, which involved more than 400,000 British men and women aged between 37 and 73, showed that people who watched television for more than five hours a day were 44% more likely to develop dementia, 12% more likely to suffer a stroke and 28% more likely to suffer Parkinson’s, it reports. Daily Mail.
On the other hand, watching it ‘only’ between three and five hours a day was associated with a 15% higher risk of developing dementia compared to watching it for one hour or less.
To reach this conclusion, a group of scientists from China and the Netherlands used data from the UK Biobank. One of the criteria was that participants did not suffer from neurodegenerative diseases or strokes at the time of their inclusion in the study. The average follow-up period was 12.6 years, according to the study, published in Journal of The American Medical Directors Association.
Interestingly, no increased disease risks were detected based on the amount of time a person spends in front of the computer, probably because computer use is associated with “more mentally demanding behavior.”
A team from Tianjin Medical University in China also found that watching television for more than five hours can be associated with having less grey matter and smaller memory centres, two characteristics that increase the risk of brain diseases.
“Restricting daily television viewing time to three hours has been shown to be most beneficial for brain-related disorders,” the scientists concluded.
