Log out of Netflix! Binge-watching could be ruining your body

Image: Prasit Rodphan / 123rf

According to a new study by the University of Queensland, Australia, marathon TV sessions could harm your health in years to come.

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om 47 to 85 at the start of the study and followed over a 12-year period.

Subjects were classified into six groups based on their TV watching habits, ranging from consistently low at less than five hours a week (9.7 per cent of participants), low-increasing (22.3 per cent), moderate-decreasing (13.5 per cent), moderate-increasing (30.3 per cent), consistently-high (18.9 per cent), and high-increasing at more than 30 hours of TV watching per week (5.2 percent).

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Almost a third of participants fell into the moderate-increasing range, increasing their weekly TV watching from about 10 hours a week to about 20 hours.

The study showed that those who spent less time watching television had significantly better lower-body muscle strength 12 years later.

"On a knee extensor strength test, the consistently low TV watchers performed better than most other groups," commented Reid, who said the research suggested that excessive TV watching needed to be addressed earlier rather than later in life, as it could make a difference to independent living as we age.

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"Future longitudinal studies that examine sitting time and its impact on physical function are also needed," she added.

The results can be found published online in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

This article was originally published on AFP Relaxnews.