Effects of watching TV excessively on children’s health

Ion Gireada | 27 February 2015

Children spending more than two hours a day watching TV have a 30 percent higher risk of developing high blood pressure, a new research found.

Scientists from the Universities of Zaragoza (Spain) and São Paulo (Brazil) determined that being sedentary, meaning no physical activity, or doing less than an hour of physical activity a day increases the risk of high blood pressure by 50 percent.

Currently, children have access to technology such as television sets, gaming consoles, mobile phones, and the internet. This situation hinders the opportunity of being physically active by playing with other children and getting ample sunlight. Not only lack of adequate physical activity interrupts children’s ability to socialize, but it also have severe effects on how body will adapt to situations later in life.

The study was published in International Journal of Cardiology.

Scientists discovered a cumulative incidence of high blood pressure in children in a two year span, with 110 children out of 1,000 showing signs of high blood pressure.