By Edward J. Thomas –
Turning off the TV may be a healthy, heartwarming practice.
The American Heart Association, in fact, reports limiting TV times to no more than one hour a day may lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and other blood vessel diseases among people with varying levels of genetic risk for type 2 diabetes, including high genetic risk.
The association’s proclamation stems from one of the first studies to examine how the genetic risk for type 2 diabetes may interact with TV viewing about the future risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), which is caused by plaque buildup in arterial walls and refers to conditions that include heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. These conditions have the potential to compromise a person’s quality of life and lead to bypass surgeries, stenting procedures, amputations and even premature death.
“Type 2 diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle, including prolonged sitting, are major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Watching TV, which accounts for more than half of daily sedentary behavior, is consistently associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis,” reports the study’s lead author Youngwon Kim, a professor in the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong. “Our study provides new insights into the roles of limiting TV viewing time in the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases for everyone and especially in people with a high genetic predisposition for type 2 diabetes.”
Underscoring the potential risks of extended television viewing for those with type 2 diabetes is no small matter considering almost 40 million Americans have diabetes, with up to 95 percent of these individuals suffering from type 2.
The research examined biomedical data from almost 350,000 U.K. adults, with an average age of 56 years. About 45 of those studied were male. During nearly 14 years of follow-up, the study identified 21,265 people who developed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Researchers calculated a polygenic risk score for type 2 diabetes for each participant, while also collecting self-reported data on how much television they watched.
About 20 percent reported watching an hour or less of TV daily, while the balance watched more than two hours per day. Those recording at least two hours of TV were associated with a 12 percent higher risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease regardless of their genetic risk for type 2 diabetes.
The analysis also indicated that participants with medium and high type 2 diabetes genetic risk did not have a higher risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease as long as they watched no more than one hour of television daily.
“We found that people with high genetic risk for type 2 diabetes may exhibit lower chances of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by limiting TV watching to one hour or less each day. This suggests that less TV viewing could serve as a key behavioral target for preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases linked to type 2 diabetes genetics,” noted aid first author of the study Mengyao Wang, a recent Ph.D. graduate of The University of Hong Kong.
Colleagues from the American Heart Association underscored the overall importance of limiting sedentary behavior and enhancing positive lifestyle activities.
“This study shows that reducing TV watching can benefit both people at high risk for type 2 diabetes and those at low risk. It also highlights how lifestyle choices can improve health,” said Damon L. Swift, Ph.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s Physical Activity Committee and an associate professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“These findings add to the evidence that sitting time may represent a potential intervention tool to improve health in people in general, and specifically for people with a high risk for type 2 diabetes. This is especially important because people with type 2 diabetes are at a heightened risk for cardiovascular disease compared to those who do not have diabetes,” added Swift, who was not involved in the study.
