Watching TV for more than 4 hours daily increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with watching TV for less than 2.5 hours in a day, suggests a new study reported in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.¹

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted involving 131,421 participants, aged ≥40 years, without history of existing VTE. Three prospective observational studies published between 2016-2021 were included in this meta-analysis. The participants were instructed to fill in a questionnaire detailing the amount of time spent watching TV. Based on the information provided, the participants were grouped into two categories: never/seldom viewers (watching TV less than 2.5 hours daily) and prolonged viewers (watching TV at least 4 hours every day). The average duration of follow-up in the three studies ranged from 5.1 to 19.8 years. The relative risk of developing VTE was compared between the two groups.

During the study period, 964 participants developed VTE. Participants who watched TV for prolonged duration were 1.35 times more at risk of developing VTE compared to those who either did not watch TV or only seldom watched TV. This risk was independent of the traditional risk factors such as age, sex, BMI and physical activity.

Watching TV daily for long durations increases the risk of VTE as determined in this pooled analysis of three studies. Though the studies do not establish that prolonged TV watching causes VTE, they do attest to an association between the two. A multitude of reasons have been put forth for this heightened risk such as prolonged immobilization, venous stasis, increased plasma viscosity and platelet aggregation. Also, persons who binge watch TV may be obese and hypertensive because they tend to eat unhealthy food while watching TV, both of which are risk factors for VTE.

Therefore, to prevent VTE, prolonged sedentary activities such as TV watching should be interspersed with regular and frequent breaks to offset the harmful effects of sitting for long durations.

The benefits of exercise on physical health and mental health are well-known and indubitable. Besides regular exercise, it is important to move around more often all through the day because ‘exercise’ is not synonymous with ‘physical activity’. As per the WHO, exercise is a subcategory of physical activity, which is planned, structured, repetitive and purposeful, while physical activity includes all activities done during leisure time, for transport to get to and from places, house chores, or as part of a person’s work including exercise.

Here are a few simple ways to increase physical activity both at home and your workplace.

• Take the stairs as often as possible.
• Get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way.
• Have “walk-meetings” instead of "sit-in" meetings.
• Walk to the nearby shops instead of driving.
• Stand up and walk while talking on the phone.
• Walk down to speak to your colleague instead of using the intercom/phone.
• Walk around your building for a break during the work day or during lunch.
• Buy a pedometer.

Remember Dr KK’s Formula of 80. “Walk 80 minutes each day; brisk walk 80 minutes a week with a speed of 80 steps (at least) per minute”

Reference

1. Kunutsor SK, et al. Television viewing and venous thrombo-embolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2022 Jan 20;zwab220. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwab220.