Television ‘increases’ risk of Type 2 diabetes

Each hour spent watching TV increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 3.4 per cent, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh looked at the effects of sedentary or ‘sitting time’ in relation to the risk of Type 2 diabetes in the paper published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes).

Dr Andrea Kriska, senior study author, said: “These findings are particularly noteworthy because a decrease in sitting occurred despite the absence of programme goals aimed at reducing sitting. It is likely that a lifestyle intervention programme that incorporates a specific goal of decreasing sitting time would result in greater changes in sitting and likely more health improvements than are demonstrated here.

“Finally, these results should inform future intervention efforts that already focus on goals of increasing activity and reducing weight to also consider emphasising sitting less.”

Diabetes UK’s Research Communications Manager, Richard Elliott, responded by saying: “We already know that doing more physical activity and spending less time seated, along with eating a healthy balanced diet, are the best ways to prevent Type 2 diabetes.

“This study does not show watching TV to be a direct cause of Type 2 diabetes, and does not directly compare the impact of watching TV with the impact of other seated activities (such as reading or commuting), but still adds to evidence that less time spent sitting helps to reduce your risk of this condition.”