TV viewing and sedentary lifestyle in teens linked to disease risk in adulthood

January 30, 2013 in Health

A team of scientists at Umea University, in collaboration with colleagues in Melbourne, Australia, have found that television viewing and lack of exercise at age 16 is associated with the risk of developing metabolic syndrome at 43 years age.

Metabolic syndrome is a name for the disorder of metabolism - a combination of abdominal obesity, elevated , hypertension and impaired - which provides for a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

It has previously been shown that lack of physical activity increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. It is also known that low leisure-time physical activity, for example, how much time spent watching TV is linked to the risk of metabolic syndrome independent of . The new research findings have now been able to show is that these relationships extend over a large part of life, specifically between 16 to 43 years of age. The study is published in the journal and included 888 participants in northern Sweden who had been followed from 1981 when they were in ninth grade in elementary school, until 2008.

"The results demonstrate that we need to consider how we can reduce among children and adolescents, "says the report's lead author, a general practitioner and Adjunct Professor Patrik Wennberg, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University. "It may be more important than only focusing on increased fitness and sports activities for those who are already interested."

More information: Wennberg, P. et al. Television viewing and low leisure-time physical activity in adolescence independently predict the metabolic syndrome in mid-adulthood, Diabetes Care, Published online before print January 22, 2013. doi: 10.2337/dc12-1948

Journal reference: Diabetes Care search and more info website

Provided by Umea University search and more info website

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