For those of you who don’t like to move, the term ‘sedentary lifestyle’ is very appropriate to describe your lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle is a term for a lifestyle of someone who prefers to be lazy on the bed or the sofa without doing anything. In addition, during this pandemic, we are all forced to stay at home. Inevitably, the comfort of our home makes some of us feel lazier. Spending time on the bed or sitting on the sofa while watching TV became a new habit during the 'quarantine' period.

Unfortunately, this habit can actually increase the risk of various health problems. There have been many studies showing that a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and death. The habit of watching TV for hours and not doing any activity can cause poor health conditions. This statement is further supported by the results of a recent study conducted by the University of Glasgow, where researchers found cutting screen time can reduce this risk.

In their study, the researchers observed 490,966 participants aged 37-73 years. Each participant reported their lifestyle, including how many hours they spent watching television without doing other activities. In addition, participant health history data were also collected to see cases of death that occurred. This researcher took place with a follow-up period of 12 years, from 2006 - 2018.

The results showed that researchers found that those who limit screen time to only two hours per day have a lower risk of death than those who do not limit at all. The time limit can reduce the risk of death related to heart disease by 7.97%. Not only that, the time limit can also reduce the risk of death from any cause by up to 5.62%. Researchers explained that the time limit can prevent various diseases.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Foster H.M.E., Ho, F.K., Sattar, N., et al (2020). Understanding how much TV is too much: a non-linear analysis of the association between television viewing time and adverse health outcome. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, DOI: 10.1016 / j.mayocp.2020.04.035.
• BBC - Cutting screen time lowers risk of death, study finds (2020). https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-53501743?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health&link_location=live-reporting-story, 05 August 2020.