Researchers have found that students who use their smartphones five or more hours a day are prone to higher risk of obesity and likely to have other lifestyle habits that increases the risk of heart disease.
According to a study, researchers analysed 1,060 students (700 girls and 360 boys) of Colombia with an average age of 19 years and 20 years, respectively.
Lead author of the study, Mirary Mantilla-Morron from the Simon Bolivar University in Columbia, said,
The study found that the risk of obesity increases by 43 per cent if a smartphone was used for 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 activities.
According to researchers, 26 percent of the students who were overweight and 4.6 per cent who were obese spent more than five hours using their device.
According to Rajesh Kapoor, surgical Gastroenterology, Jaypee Hospital, Noida, using smartphones today is not a mere choice, rather it has become a necessity. But using it for too long may risk your healthy life.
"It is not a question of five or more hours on the phone. It is a question of how much activity level we are able to build into our life," Achal Bhagat, Senior Consultant, Psychiatry at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Delhi told IANS.
"And if we are not able to build it to an adequate level, then it increases the chances of obesity and related health risk factors. Phone is one of the ways of exhibiting that we are not doing enough physical activities in our life," he added.
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