Heart damage: another reason to cut down on children's screen time
Barcelona (PTI): The effects of prolonged screen use during childhood have been extensively studied in recent years.
Evidence indicates that excessive screen time is harmful both to neurological development and socialisation.
This is because, among other things, they cause us to disconnect from our surroundings, leading to very real addictions that often require intervention from a mental health professional.
Additionally, screen use can cause neurocognitive learning disorders at the early stages of personality formation in childhood.
But above all, excessive time spent in front of televisions, video games, mobile phones and tablets during childhood and adolescence leads to a sedentary lifestyle.
In fact, there is already a proven link between overuse of screens and the increase in sedentary lifestyles among children.
Now, a new dimension can be added to all these reasons for limiting the time children spend in front of televisions, video games and mobile phones.
According to a new study, led by Andrew Agbaje at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2023, sedentary children are at increased risk of heart damage in early adulthood.
In other words, inactivity during infancy may well set the stage for heart attacks and strokes later in life, even if weight and blood pressure are within the normal ranges.
Excessive screen time increases heart weight The research analysed the cumulative effects of sedentary time on the heart, drawing data from Children of the 90s, a landmark multigenerational study that is unique in its breadth and depth of scope.
It tracked the health and lifestyles of 14,500 babies born in 1990 and 1991 into their adult lives.
Of the children included in the study, 766 –55 per cent of them girls and 45 per cent boys– were asked at age 11 to wear a smart watch that monitored their activity for seven days.
At age 15 they were asked to repeat this, and then again at 24. In parallel, an echocardiographical analysis was taken of each subject's left ventricle at ages 17 and 24, which was then adjusted for height, sex, blood pressure, body fat, tobacco use, physical activity and socioeconomic status.
The results indicated that at age 11 the subjects were sedentary for an average of 362 minutes per day. In adolescence (age 15) this increased to 474 minutes per day, and then went up to 531 minutes per day in adulthood (age 24).
Sedentary time increased by an average of 2.8 hours per day over the 13 years of the study. A large amount of this sedentary time was spent in front of screens. `Most seriously, the echocardiography registered an increase in heart weight among young people that correlated directly to time spent being sedentary.
Once they entered adulthood, this increased the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.
This direct relation between accumulated inactive time and heart damage was independent of body weight and blood pressure.
Tell me how much you moved as a child… By now it is common knowledge that sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of metabolic conditions (such as obesity and type 2 diabetes), neurodegenerative disease and cardiovascular disease in adults.
The new study shows that sedentary behaviour at a very early age –especially unrestricted screen time– may lead to an earlier onset of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
For this reason, it is of the utmost importance that parents encourage children and adolescents to move around more, and limit the time they spend watching television, or using social media and videogames.
As we have already suggested with regard to premature birth, the list of known, conventional cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, diabetes, hypertension, etc.) should be revised and updated as a result of the study to include the cumulative time spent engaging in sedentary behaviour in childhood.
We should all, from an early age, heed the words of Martin Luther King when he said "If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving." (The Conversation) FZH
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
