New study says binge-watching could shorten your life

We’re all a little (or a lot) guilty of hitting “watch next episode” until you’ve finished the entire first season of your new favourite show in one night.

We all do it, but next time you sit down for a Netflix binge-watching session, you might want to keep in mind that it could be taking years off of your life - or at least that’s what a new study out of Melbourne, Australia says.

According to researchers at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, binge-watching could be increasing your risk of death from inflammatory-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and Kidney disease.

Using survey data of over 8900 adults, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute researchers found that every extra hour per day spent watching television led to a 12% higher risk of death linked to inflammation, including diabetes, respiratory, cognitive, and kidney diseases.

Lead author and Senior Research Officer in the Institute’s Physical Activity Laboratory, Dr. Megan Grace, says inflammation is a normal response where chemicals are released into the blood in response to a harmful event to help recovery.

When the immune system senses danger such as stress or infection, it responds by activating proteins meant to protect cells and tissues. But she says inflammation can become harmful if these chemicals hang around for long periods, causing disease.

“With on-demand television, many of us easily spend several hours a day binge-watching our favourite shows.” Dr. Grace says.

“Those who spent more time watching TV were older, less likely to have completed at least 12 years of education, had lower household income, were more likely to be current or ex-smokers, more likely to have diabetes or hypertension, and had a more adverse overall health profile. High TV viewers also had a lower diet quality,” she adds.

Binge session are our fav 👌🏽 #bingewatching pic.twitter.com/cPgRW3UAU7

— TV Time (@tvshowtime) September 15, 2017

Dr. Grace said these findings are an important step in finding out why prolonged periods of sitting may be bad for health.

They also provide further evidence that, in addition to promoting physical activity, chronic disease prevention strategies should focus on reducing sitting time.