Spending too much time on your phone could have a detrimental effect on your health if this new study is anything to go by. A research was conducted on 1060 university students who were monitored for up to six months on how much time they spend on their phones and their lifestyle habits.
The findings revealed that 26% of the students who were overweight and 4.6% who were obese spent more than five hours a day on their phones. It also revealed that men were 36.1% likely to be overweight and 42.6% likely to be obese while women were 63.9% likely to be overweight and 57.4% likely to be obese.
The science is simple, being drawn to phone leads to decrease mobility, therefore posing a serious risk to health due to inactivity.
“It is important that the general population know and be aware that, although mobile technology is undoubtedly attractive for its multiple purposes, portability, comfort, access to countless services, information and entertainment sources, it should also be used to improve habits and healthy behaviors.
“Spending too much time in front of the smartphone facilitates sedentary behaviors, reduces the time of physical activity, which increases the risk of premature death, diabetes, heart disease, different types of cancer, osteoarticular discomfort and musculoskeletal symptoms,” noted a cardiac pulmonary and vascular rehabilitation specialist who led the study.
Together with spending too much time on the phone come lifestyle habits that put you at a greater risk of conditions such as heart disease with university students said to be likely to indulge more in sugary drinks, fast food, sweets, and snacks as well as have decreased levels of physical activity which are not good for their health.
