According to new research by Japan’s Osaka University, binge watching sessions increase a person’s chance of receiving a fatal pulmonary embolism.
Binge-watchers could be putting themselves in danger by watching entire seasons of TV shows in one sitting. Those who watched at least five hours of television everyday have more than double the risk of getting a fatal pulmonary embolism, compared to people who watch two and a half hours (or less). According to WebMD, a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that completely stops blood flow and immediately kills the person suffering from it.
BINGE WATCHING SESSIONS: THE INCREASE IN RISK
At the European Society of Cardiology’s annual conference in London, the research was revealed. A press release by the organization noted that the link was strongest in people less than 60 years old, watching more than five hours of television a day. For these people, the risk of a fatal pulmonary embolism was six-fold. However, for those watching between two and a half and 4.9 hours of TV, the risk was only tripled.
“We showed that prolonged television viewing may be a risky behaviour for death from pulmonary embolism,” Dr. Toru Shirakawa of Osaka University, the project’s lead researcher, said in a statement. “Leg immobility during television viewing may in part explain the finding.”
The study, which was funded by the Japanese government, is the first ever to research a link between fatal pulmonary embolisms and watching television for long periods of time according to Independent Online.
POPULARITY OF BINGE WATCHING
According to the Los Angeles Times, a Deloitte LLP survey about binge watching found that 68% of people polled had binge watched before, with 31% stating that they did so at least once a week. In response, the newspaper has called binge watching “the dominant mode of TV consumption in the US”.
HOW THE STUDY WAS DONE
Researchers at Osaka studied 86,000 people over an 18-year period, and calculated health risk after adjusting it to take into account factors like body mass index, menopausal status, smoking, diabetes or hypertension, The Independent pointed out.
UNKNOWN WHETHER SAME CONNECTION EXISTS WITH SMARTPHONE USE
“In this era of information technology, use of other visual based media devices such as personal computers or smartphones is popular,” Dr. Shirakawa said. “Prolonged computer gaming has been associated with death from pulmonary embolism but to our knowledge a relationship with prolonged smartphone use has not yet been reported.”
