Stand up while binge-watching to avoid serious health damage, experts warn

Standing while binge-watching TV series can help avoid the risks of heart disease and obesity from sitting too much, experts have advised.

Watching episodes for hours on end comes with a multitude of health risks because you are so sedentary – inactive – while you're doing it.

As well as leading to weight gain, a lack of movement is also a risk factor for health conditions such as diabetes and blood clots in the legs, research has warned.

Experts recommend 30-minute breaks or small tasks such as doing the laundry in between episodes, as well as cutting back on late night viewing. 

Standing while binge-watching TV series can help avoid the risks of heart disease and obesity from sitting too much, experts in Ohio have claimed

Standing while binge-watching TV series can help avoid the risks of heart disease and obesity from sitting too much, experts in Ohio have claimed

Movie marathons and box-set binges are easier and comfier than ever before with a range of streaming services including Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime.

Brad Lander, a clinical psychologist at Ohio State's medical centre, told the Washington Post there is nothing wrong with watching TV.

But he said: 'The problem is when you do it too much. Take regular stretch breaks. Move around, every 30 minutes is best, or watch while standing for part of it.'

Sophia Tolliver, a family medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, added: 'Take a break in the middle. 

'Don't be afraid to hit the pause button and do something else. Start or finish laundry, bake, walk the dog, go to the bathroom break.'

WHAT DISEASES HAS BINGE-WATCHING BEEN LINKED TO? 

Excessive TV watching is linked to eight of the major causes of death, including cancer, liver disease and Parkinson's, a study published in 2015 found.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Michigan discovered that those who watch more than three-and-a-half hours of television a day are not only at risk of cancer and heart disease, but also diabetes, flu, pneumonia, Parkinson's and liver disease.

People who watched between three and four hours of TV a day were 15 per cent more likely to die from a common cause of death, compared to those who watched less than one hour a day and died naturally, according to the findings in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

A study published in July 2016, also found binge-watching numerous episodes of your favourite TV series could be deadly. 

Adults who spend five hours in front of the television each day are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from a blood clot in the lungs, Japanese scientists

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