Kicking Back and Watching Television—How Much is Too Much?

Most of us acknowledge that our modern-day lifestyle is basically sedentary. We spend more hours than we care to admit sitting or reclining—reading, working at the computer, eating, or watching television. While none of these activities, unless you are actually working at the computer, are very demanding, there is nothing quite as passive as watching television.

Recently, a landmark study led by Dr. Loretta DiPietro, (George Washington University School of Public Health in Washington, D.C). considered the activity patterns of 134 000 adults, aged 50 to 71. Examining data from a larger, earlier study, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, she focused on the connection between sedentary lifestyle and mobility disability in older people, publishing her findings  in August 2017  in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

The discovery that older adults who reported watching more than five hours of television a day were 65 % more likely to have difficulty walking almost 10 years later, was significant. It’s important to note that participants who watched less than two hours a day did not suffer the same consequences.

The researchers found that watching this amount of television more than tripled the participants’ risk of disability. DiPietro, noting that this activity is especially dangerous for people who get three or fewer hours of physical activity throughout the week, says:

“There’s something about TV watching that is really damaging. Perhaps because people usually settle in for the night on a recliner and don’t move and start binge-watching, without breaks.”

Dr. DiPietro is adamant that the findings strongly suggest that older people who want to remain fit must increase their daily physical activity and reduce the amount of time they spend sitting.

Why we should pay attention to this study

Those who may want to discredit this research on the basis that it is ‘just another study’ should know that there are several factors that make it difficult to discount:

• it involved participants for almost a decade
• it’s the first time that a study examined sitting time jointly with physical activity
• it studied how these two factors are related to mobility disability.

Dr. DiPietro and colleagues admit that, as with all studies, there are some limitations—all the data on physical activity and sedentary habits were self-reported, for example, which may have allowed for potential bias regarding the amount of exercise they had. The important variables, to my way of thinking, was the relationship between television and loss of mobility, which presented a very clear picture.

More effects of too much television

And if that isn’t enough to make you pay attention to the dangers of television watching, a new study at University College London, UK has emerged—this time with the focus on television as it affects memory. With 3,662 adults aged 50 and older participating, The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) was published in the March 1, 2019 issue of the New York Times,

Catherine Paddock, PhD, who wrote the article on the study, reports:

“The analysis revealed that those who watched TV for 3.5 hours or more per day had an average decline of 8–10 percent in word-and language-related memory over the 6 years the study covered. This is compared with a lower 4–5 percent average decline in those who watched fewer hours of TV per day over the same period.”

As with the George Washington School study, authors mention passivity as a mitigating factor, describing television as

“…a unique activity which combines strong sensory stimuli on the one hand with passivity from the viewer on the other.”

Is there anything good about television?

In all of the research I’ve read on this topic, there is nothing to suggest that television viewing in older age has no benefits at all and should be abandoned altogether. There is evidence that adults who watch dramas do better in tests that indicate a greater ability to understand others and some studies have also revealed that educational TV programs are good learning tools.

There are good reasons why television is such a powerful means of entertainment and leisure choice for older people. Watching TV offers a means to escape from life at times of difficulty, and may sooth feelings of isolation, anxiety and boredom. Many older people consider television as a friend and a form of relaxation, readily available at the click of a remote control.

Now what? What you can do from here

For older adults, with many years of sedentary living behind them, changing their lifestyle may seem impossible, and ‘too high a hill to climb’.

The bald truth is, however, older people who want to maintain function as they age must reduce their sedentary time watching television, and ramp up their physical activity.

A word of caution, though: Those who have already lost mobility and balance, will need to involve a doctor or qualified physiotherapist before they can begin to improve their physical state.

And for people who want to keep viewing television, and don’t really wish to cut down, here are some things they can do:

• Do things that break up sitting time.
• Go for short walks.
• Climb some stairs.
• Walk around the house or office.
• Get up and walk around during commercials.
• Do some stretches.

Any change, any small activity that will disturb the ‘numbing out’ repercussions of television viewing is worth a try!