THE ESSENTIAL
- The risk of developing blood clots is 35% higher in heavy television viewers
- Venous thromboembolism poses the risk of a life-threatening pulmonary embolism
It would be life-threatening to spend hours in front of the TV while snacking! A study published on January 20 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that people who stay in front of the small screen every day for four hours or more run a 35% higher risk of developing blood clots than those who are content with two and a half hours of TV! And this regardless of their age, sex, body mass index or level of physical activity.
A study of more than 140,000 people aged 40 and over
Scientists have studied the link between over-watching television and venous thromboembolism which can cause venous thrombosis (blood clot in a deep vein, usually the legs) which can cause a life-threatening pulmonary embolism when the blood clot travels to the lungs . They analyzed three studies involving a total of more than 130,000 participants aged 40 and over and without a history of venous thromboembolism by collecting information on their time spent in front of television. This allowed them to be classified into two groups, those who watch TV for four hours or more each day and those who watch it for a maximum of two and a half hours a day.
During these three studies, which were conducted over a period ranging from 5 to 19.5 years, 964 participants developed venous thromboembolism. The viewers of the group spending more than four hours in front of the small screen were 1.35 times more likely to develop this venous disorder than those who limited their presence in front of the TV to two and a half hours.
Immobility venous thromboembolism factor
“These results indicate that watching television for many hours is a risky activity!”, concludes Dr Setor Kunutsor, of the University of Bristol, author of this study who, as he himself specifies, did not been conducted only on observational studies and therefore do not provide scientific proof that prolonged television viewing causes blood clots.
However, he explains that too much time spent in front of the television “implies an immobilization which is a factor of venous thromboembolism and that this is the reason why people are encouraged to move around, particularly in airplanes during long-haul flights because that blood accumulates in the extremities instead of circulating, which can cause blood clots”. And Dr Kunutsor adds that “binge-watchers tend to eat unhealthy snacks which can lead to obesity and high blood pressure, which increases the risk of blood clots”.
His advice for avoiding this potentially fatal consequence is simple and common sense: “Long periods of television viewing should be interspersed with movement to maintain circulation and generally for anyone who sits often in their daily lives. , it is necessary to get up and move from time to time”…
