Netflix, get up, jump around, and then binge

Netflix, get up, jump around, and then binge


Sure, a rainy day spent on the sofa speed-watching 18 episodes of “Law & Order: SVU” seems time well spent.

But a new study suggests those who spend four hours or more watching television in one sitting have a 35% higher risk of blood clots, compared with those who spend less than two and a half hours watching the tube.

United Kingdom researchers reviewed three previous studies that looked at the association between TV viewing and venous thromboembolism, also called “VTE.”

VTE includes pulmonary embolism, or blood clots in the lungs, and deep vein thrombosis — blood clots that usually start in the legs and travel to the lungs.

If not caught in time, pulmonary embolism can stop blood flow, causing organ damage or death.

Even if you exercise frequently, that doesn’t eliminate the increased risk of blood clots associated with prolonged TV watching, the researchers said. They suggest if you’re going to watch extended amounts of TV, move around every half hour or so and maybe stretch a bit.

The researchers reviewed three studies that included more than 130,000 participants, all 40 years old or older. They were placed in two categories: “prolonged viewers” who reported watching TV at least four hours a day, and “never or seldom” viewers, who watched two and a half hours or less a day.

The “prolonged viewers” group was 1.35 times more likely to develop VTE than their TV-avoiding counterparts.

The researchers say there is nothing inherently risky about TV, but to keep that blood circulating — and clots away from your lungs — move around. Instead of lying prone, the next time you recognize Detective Olivia Benson’s “ripped from the headlines” case, celebrate with a jumping break.

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