TV Viewing Increases Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease Risk, Study Finds

By Eryn Sun, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, June 16, 2011

Can too much TV be detrimental for your health?

A new study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that prolonged television viewing is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality.

Published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, eight major studies were analyzed in the report that followed more than 200,00 people for an average of 7-10 years.

For every two hours of daily television consumed, research found that the risk of diabetes increased by 20 percent and the risk of heart disease and fatality rose to 15 percent.

The findings suggest that people who sit in front of the TV are prone to sedentary behavior and lifestyles, which lead to disease. Though the recent study cannot prove that watching TV alone could significantly raise health problems, lead researcher at Harvard Frank Hu believes that people who watch a lot of television are more likely to eat junk food and practice an inactive lifestyle.

“People who sit in front of the television are not only exercising less, they are likely eating unhealthy foods,” Hu told Reuters. “It’s true that people who watch a lot of TV differ from those who watch less, especially in terms of diet and physical activity levels.”

“The combination of a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and obesity creates a ‘perfect breeding ground’ for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.”

Out of a group of 100,000 people, reducing daily TV time by just two hours could prevent 176 new cases of diabetes, 38 cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 premature deaths every year, based on the study.

In a recent survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 26.8 million people were diagnosed with heart disease while 25.8 million children and adults in the United States were reported to have diabetes, according to the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet.

Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents appears to be a sizable and growing problem among U.S. children and adolescents, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention noted.

All of the studies made sure that participants did not have a chronic disease, although it was possible that some people had undetected forms of disease, which could influence the findings.

As Americans are spending more and more time in front of the television – U.S. residents log an average of five hours a day – Hu and his team, by linking television time to disease, hope that people will start to lead more active lives instead.

“The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching is an important way to reduce sedentary behaviors and decrease risk of diabetes and heart disease.”

Previous studies also found a link to diet and television as well, with an increase in obesity and high blood pressure.

The ongoing research on the adverse effects of television, not just physically but psychologically as well, caution Americans to be more mindful of their daily habits which can directly relate to harmful behaviors.