Warning: Watching TV For More Than 5 Hours A Health Hazard

A study reports that older people who watch television for more than five hours a day and do physical activity for less than three hours in a week are thrice prone to difficulty in walking. The findings showed that people who watched five or more hours of television per day had a 65 per cent greater risk of reporting a mobility disability, compared with those who watched television for less than two hours per day."Television viewing is a very potent risk factor for disability in older age," said lead author Loretta DiPietro from the George Washington University.

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Younger people might be able to get away with sitting for long periods because they are physiologically more robust. But after age 50, prolonged sitting, and especially prolonged television viewing, becomes particularly hazardous, DiPietro said. "We've engineered physical activity out of our modern life with commuting, elevators, the internet, mobile phones and a lifestyle that often includes 14 hours of sitting per day," DiPietro said.

"Our findings suggest that older people who want to remain fit must ramp up their daily physical activity and reduce the amount of time they spend sitting," DiPietro added.

Old people, who go for high-intensity walking, can keep their blood pressure in check, maintain thigh muscle strength and increase their exercise capacity. The rapid growth in the elderly population in many countries has underlined the importance of exercise training to decrease the likelihood of disability and age-associated disease, promote independence, and enhance quality of life. Moderately paced walking (about 6 kilometre per hour) is thought to protect against disability and is recommended for middle-aged and older people.

With inputs from PTI