Five hours’ TV a day triples mobility risk for over 50s

WITH the rising popularity of box sets, it can be so tempting to flick on to the next episode as soon as the previous one finishes.

But binge-watching TV shows can dramatically increase your risk of mobility problems – especially if you’re over 0, scientists have claimed. Experts found couch potatoes who spent more than five hours an evening watching programmes in middle age tripled their chances of being unable to walk in later life.

Sitting for too long leads to loss in the quality and quantity of muscle. It is particularly harmful past 0, as falling hormone levels already put this age group at risk of weakened muscles.

US scientists at George Washington University analysed data from 134,269 people aged 0 to 71. They found that cutting down to less than two hours of TV lowered the risk of disability by 6 per cent compared with those viewing for five hours a day, regardless of whether they did any exercise or not.

The study, published in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, stated people got up less when watching lots of TV episodes back-to-back, which had ‘striking effects on mobility disability’.