Keep fit, don’t spend all weekend watching TV

Keep fit, don’t spend all weekend watching TV

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If you spend six hours daily watching television, doctors say you may be at risk of dying five years sooner than those who spend their time on other energy-demanding activities.

Experts at the University of Queensland, Australia, warned that every hour spent watching television shortens the viewer’s life by 22 minutes.

Maybe you had thought you would catch up on the episodes of telenovellas you missed during the week, physicians advise a change in plans as evidence abound that watching television for long is as deadly as smoking.

“With further corroborative evidence, a public health case could be made that adults also need to limit the time spent watching TV.

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TV viewing time may have adverse health consequences that rival those of lack of physical activity, obesity and smoking; every single hour of TV viewed may shorten life by as much as 22 minutes.”

The Australian scientists note that watching TV would not just wreak our vision; the habit could double one’s risk of dying of diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and hypertension- diseases that are linked to lack of exercise.

According to the researchers, adults who watch TV three hours or more a day may double their risk of premature death from any cause compared to those who watch less or do not watch at all.

Consultant cardiologist, Dr. Segun Akinsanya, says though the dangers have nothing to do with the TV, the fact that watching it for long hours encourages sedentary living, bad posture and increases one’s risk of adding excess calories make the habit unhealthy. All these, he adds, have negative consequences on life expectancy.

He says, “We must get it right. The warning has nothing to do with the effects of the TV because that is what most people think. We are discouraging it because it is easy to make watching TV a habit.

“Watching TV is a sedentary habit, that you gain nothing much from. It discourages you from exercising and increases your chances of being obese in dangerous areas, like the belly and the thighs.

“Every hour you spend fiddling your remote and switching channels decreases your cardiovascular health, which is as important as breathing. Many metabolic functions are on hold while you are sitting in a spot for long. One of them is efficient blood circulation.”

Also, some thought-provoking studies by scientists at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, suggest that it is high time one stopped being a couch potato watching marathon Mexican soaps or television series, which may cut one’s life expectancy by a quarter.

The team of researchers assessed 13,284 young and healthy Spanish university graduates between 37 and 50 years and majorly women to determine the relationship between three types of sedentary behaviours, such as television viewing time, sitting at the computer and time spent driving and its risks to death.

Interestingly, the findings reveal that television viewing is the worst sedentary habit an individual can adopt. The Spanish scientists reported 97 deaths, with 19 deaths from cardiovascular causes, 46 from cancer and 32 from other causes in those studied during the period.

Most importantly, they discovered that the risk of death was two-fold higher for participants who reportedly watched three or more hours of TV a day compared to those watching a hour or less.

This two-fold higher risk was also apparent after accounting for a wide array of other variables related to a higher risk of death.

The study’s lead author and a professor at the Department of Public Health at the university, Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, says that television watching is gradually reducing life expectancy of many, especially women in the 21st century.

Martinez- Gonzalez says, “The world is becoming more sedentary. With a touch and not having to move, you are entertained for hours. Television viewing is a major sedentary behaviour that is threatening the lives of many but adults must be careful.

“As the population ages, sedentary behaviour will become more prevalent, especially watching television and this poses an additional burden on the increased health problems related to aging.

“Our findings suggest that adults may consider increasing their physical activity, avoid long sedentary periods, and reduce television watching to no longer than one hour each day.”

Physicians say that watching too much TV is as dangerous as smoking or being overweight, and that sedentary lifestyle whose effects include obesity and heart diseases should be seen as a public health problem.

Staying glued to the TV on weekends especially is addictive. Its addiction has surpassed that of tobacco in many surveys. It will take much effort on one’s part to break the habit.

Akinsanya advises that one should not just cut TV hours to an hour per day but also use at least 30 minutes of it for brisk walking or running around in the environment to exercise the various muscles of the body, which he says is good for blood circulation.

To help you to cope better on this journey of being more active, here are some other entertaining activities you can add to your weekend schedule to ensure that you have maximum fun.

Volunteer

Participate in fundraiser events in your church, association or community. This is a great way to network and to meet others with similar interests. The visibility also helps in branding you as a philanthropist.

Socialise

Humans are social creatures, and studies of people who experienced happiness throughout the day reveal that socialising ranks right up there, not too far down below sex. Go out with friends and family, or get involved in the local community.

PUNCH.

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