Trending News: Binge watching T.V may the increase risk for colon cancer
Do you spend hours streaming television shows on Netflix or Crackle? Are your weekends spent sitting on the couch watching Hulu? Do entire days go by as you binge on your favorite series?
If the answer is yes, you may want to make some changes – fast. That’s because a new study published in the JNCI Cancer Spectrum suggests that spending too much time watching T.V. may put you at increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC).
This is particularly alarming news because the research was focused on young people (between the ages of 25-42) who engaged in sedentary behaviors.
Investigators recorded 118 cases of young-onset CRC over a 20-year period. What they discovered was a 12% increase in risk for the disease in folks who spent more than one hour daily watching television.
And when the time spent in front of the T.V. was upped from one hour to two, the results changed from disturbing to downright scary. Why? Because participant CRC risks jumped to nearly 70%.
The interesting (and alarming) bit of information from this study was that the person’s BMI or family history of CRC did not influence outcomes.
While this line of research involved women, health experts have known for some time that regularly binge-watching television shows is terrible for health, regardless of gender.
Guy Counseling spoke to Chicago M.D. Dr. Christopher Konstantelos, who specializes in internal medicine, to gain his impressions on the research.
“For all the positive advances in technology and entertainment, there are downsides. Binge watching is one of them because it can contribute to sedentary behaviors and inactivity.
This can cause cardiovascular problems and issues with weight gain. The findings on colorectal cancer are troublesome. Daily physical activity is vital to maintaining good health”
Yin Cao, one of the study’s authors, shared in a press release the following: “This study may help identify those at high risk and who might benefit more from early screening,” said Cao. “The fact that these results were independent of BMI and physical activity suggests that being sedentary may be an altogether distinct risk factor for young-onset colorectal cancer.”
Given the results of the study, will you be revisiting how often you binge on T.V. shows?
