That too much television is harmful to health is actually nothing new. A study by the University of Glasgow is now also to prove that less television can also reduce the risk of developing certain life-threatening diseases. If you reduce the time in front of the screen to 2 hours a day, you can delay or even prevent poor health.
Too much television improves health
The study with Dr. Hamish Foster from the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow, as the leader, followed nearly 500,000 participants between the ages of 37 and 73 years and over a period of 12 years (2006 to 2018). At the end of the study, the researchers evaluated the results and found that diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease occurred the least when participants spent 2 hours or less in front of the screen. Accordingly, too much television increased the risk. It wasn’t just the time in front of the classic television that played a role here. Watching videos or films on another type of screen such as a computer monitor or a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet also increases the risk.
According to the researchers, 5.62% of all deaths and 7.97% of all deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases could have been prevented or delayed if all participants had spent less time in front of the television (maximum 2 hours). Thus, the results show that it is important for adults to reduce the amount of time they spend in front of screens.
Less is more – reduced TV time for a healthy lifestyle
Dr. Foster says that the previously known claims that too much television is unhealthy are supported by this study. The reason is that you live a more sedentary life. Thus, the results do not only refer to television, but to a sedentary lifestyle in general. Spending time in front of the TV is one of the most common causes of a lack of exercise.
“Our study suggests that reducing the time in front of the TV can prevent or delay poor health, “said Dr. Foster, adding,” However, more research needs to be done before we can make a precise recommendation on adequate TV time. ” So how much television is allowed remains unclear.
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