In multiple past blogs (see below) I’ve told you of the harms of too much screen time (TV, computer, video games, etc.) for your children. Many experts join me in encouraging you to limit your children to no more than two hours a day (at an absolute maximum). Now we’re beginning to see more data on us adults.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, “heart disease risks rise dramatically among people who spend two or more hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen, television or video-game box.”
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported that investigators “examined data from 4,512 adults. Screen time was defined as TV or DVD watching, video gaming and leisure-time computer use.”
HealthDay reported that “during 4.3 years of follow-up, 325 of these people died and 215 had a cardiovascular event.”
MedPage Today reported that the researchers “found those who spent at least four hours of screen time each day were more than twice as likely as those with less than two hours of screen time to suffer a cardiovascular event.”
The investigators also found that “people with the most screen time also had an increased risk of death during an average of four years of follow-up.”
Here are some of my blogs on “screen time” from the last year: