Spending more than two hours day of leisure time in front of a TV or computer screen increase the risk of heart disease and shorten life, a new study suggests.
British researchers compared effects of sitting for different lengths of time during leisure hours, outside of work.
People spent more than four hours each watching TV, using a computer or playing video games were about twice likely to suffer a major cardiac event.
The warnings mportant, "especially as a majority of working age adults spend long periods being inactive commuting or being slouched over a desk or computer," the study's authors wrote.
The study focused on 4,512 adults who took in a survey of Scottish households. Participants said how much time they spent watching TV, DVDs, using computers playing video games.
There was a 1.52 times higher risk of cardiovascular events as heart attack, stroke or heart failure among participants reporting four or more hours screen time compared with those who said they got less than two hours.
During more four years of follow-up, 325 of the subjects died and 215 had a cardiovascular event, the researchers reported.
The study is the first time researchers examined the association between screen time and cardiovascular health in such detail, the authors said.
The researchers took account traditional risk factors such smoking, hypertension, body mass index, social class and exercise.
The study helps doctors to understand the significant role a sedentary lifestyle has on heart disease, Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and a spokeswoman the American Heart Association, told the paper to HealthDay.
Steinbaum suggested that people avoid sitting they don't have to during leisure time and try to get moving instead.