A new study looking at computer monitor and TV screen viewing has findings I don’t find particularly shocking or surprising by any means. Over 30,000 Nordic teenagers were used in a study published in the journal BMC Public Health. Torbjørn Torsheim, from the University of Bergen, Norway, and his researchers found that TV viewing, computer use and computer gaming (screen time) were consistently associated with recurrent headaches and back pain.
Torbjørn Torsheim said, “A rising prevalence of physical complaints such as back pain, neck and shoulder pain, and headache has been reported for adolescent populations. Parallel to this, adolescents are spending an increasing amount of time on screen-based activities, such as TV, computer games, or other types of computer based entertainment.”
The study found little interaction between the type of activity performed while viewing the computer and TV and the associated physical complaints that arise. The one exception noted by the researchers was of headache in girls, which seemed to be particularly associated with TV viewing and computer use but no computer gaming. Hence the physical complaints reported by the teenagers is related to the duration and ergonomic aspects of such activity but not to which specific screen was used.
Torbjørn Torsheim also added, “The consistent but relatively weak magnitude of associations is in line with the interpretation that screen time is a contributing factor, but not a primary causal factor, in headache and backache in the general population of Nordic school-aged teenagers.”
The implications of course for this study is that you should be well aware of your posture and monitor how much time you are spending using a TV or computer. Like always exercise is important and just sitting around all day is not healthy.