Time in Front of TV Tied to Heart Disease

Spending too much leisure time in front of a TV or computer screen appears to dramatically increase the risk for heart disease and premature death from any cause, regardless of how much exercise one gets. Emmanuel Stamatakis, from University College London (United Kingdom), and colleagues have found that those who spend four or more hours on screen-based entertainment like watching TV, using the computer or playing video games, are more than twice as likely to have a major cardiac event that involves hospitalization, death or both (as compared to people who spent less than four hours in these activities). As well, those spending more than two hours a day at the TV or computer are at an 125% increase in risk of experiencing a non-fatal cardiovascular event, and a 48% increased risk of all-cause mortality.  Warning that: “Recreational sitting, as reflected by television/screen viewing time, is related to raised mortality and [cardiovascular disease] risk regardless of physical activity participation,” the team explains that: “Inflammatory and metabolic risk factors partly explain this relationship.”