In a recent study presented at the ACC Latin America Conference 2019, university students who used their smartphones five or more hours a day had a 43 percent increased risk of obesity and were more likely to have other lifestyle habits that increase the risk of heart disease, reports the American College of Cardiology.
"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," said Mirary Mantilla-Morrón, a cardiac pulmonary and vascular rehabilitation specialist at the Health Sciences Faculty at the Simón Bolívar University in Barranquilla, Colombia, and the lead author of the study.
Researchers analyzed 1060 students of the Health Sciences Faculty at the Simón Bolívar University during June to December 2018. The study group consisted of 700 women and 360 men. With an average age of 19 years and 20 years respectively. Participating men were 36.1 percent likely to be overweight and 42.6 percent likely to be obese. Women were 63.9 percent likely to be overweight and 57.4 percent likely to be obese.
Researchers found the risk of obesity increased by 43 percent if a smartphone was used five or more hours a day, as participating students were twice as likely to drink more sugary drinks, fast food, sweets, snacks and have decreased physical activity. Twenty-six percent of the subjects who were overweight and 4.6 percent who were obese spent more than five hours using their device.
"The results of this study allow us to highlight one of the main causes of physical obesity, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," Mantilla-Morrón said. "We have also determined that the amount of time in which a person is exposed to the use of technologies—specifically prolonged cell phone use—is associated with the development of obesity."
