Excessive screen time raises heart disease risk: study

AFP | Copenhagen

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Children who spend too much time in front of screens, whether phones or TVs, have an increased risk of heart and metabolic disease, according to a Danish study published yesterday.

The study tracked the screen consumption and sleep habits of more than 1,000 10-year and 18-year-olds, with researchers examining the relationship between screen time and cardiometabolic risk factors.

“Children and young adults who spend excessive hours glued to screens and electronic devices may have higher risks for cardiometabolic diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance,” said the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Subsequently they face a higher risk of developing cardiovasculardiseases or diabetes, the researchers found.

The analysis revealed that eachadditional hour of daily screentime increases the risk of disease.

“This means a child with threeextra hours of screen time a daywould have roughly a quarter tohalf a standard-deviation higherrisk than their peers,” lead authorDavid Horner, a researcher at theUniversity of Copenhagen in Denmark, said in a statement.

“Multiply that across a wholepopulation of children, and you’relooking at a meaningful shift inearly cardiometabolic risk thatcould carry into adulthood,”Horner added.

Researchers are divided onthe potential harmful effects ofscreens on children and adolescents, but the majority agree thatyounger populations are more atrisk compared to adults.