Watching too much TV 'increases risk of dying young from deadly disease'

ONE in 10 cases of heart disease could be avoided if Brits watch less TV, a study finds.

Being glued to the TV prevents people from burning the calories from dinner and from making fun of greasy chips and chocolate.

A study from the University of Cambridge estimated that 11 percent of cardiovascular disease cases could be prevented by limiting television to less than an hour a day.

But according to Ofcom, Britons watched an average of 4.5 hours a day during the 2020 Covid crisis.

dr. Youngwon Kim, of the University of Hong Kong, said: “Limiting the time you watch TV could be a relatively minor lifestyle change that could help people.”

Cambridge’s Dr. Katrien Wijndaele added: “Coronary artery disease is one of the leading causes of premature death, so it is important to find ways to help people manage their risk.”

–
–
–

Eating chocolate cuts risk of dying young by 12 percent, large study reveals

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Heart disease leads to about 64,000 deaths a year in the UK.

One of the main risk factors is not getting enough exercise and spending too much time sitting.

Smoking, high blood pressure or cholesterol and diabetes can also damage blood vessels.

The survey of 370,000 people in the UK found that watching TV for four or more hours a day led to the highest risk of illness.

Reducing it to less than an hour reduced the danger by 16 percent, while between two and four hours, a six percent reduction was achieved.

In the journal BMC Medicine, Dr. Kim wrote that watching TV after eating means that fat and sugar from the meal enters the bloodstream instead of acclimating to energy.

Couch potatoes are also more likely to graze on junk food.

Scientists found no higher risk in people who spent free time on a computer and said they tend to get up and move around more.

Chloe MacArthur, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know from decades of research that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to health problems later in life.