A new study suggests that the more time people spend on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites, the less active they are and the more susceptible to weight gain.
In the study, researchers from the University of Ulster in Northern
Ireland had 350 students complete an online survey. The students
answered questions about their levels of social networking activity and physical activity.
Most students used social networking sites for an average of one hour
each day, according to the study. Slightly more than half of the
students rated themselves as "moderately active," one-third of the
participants said they were "highly active" and 12.7% reported "low
physical activity". Of the students involved in the study, 25% said they
participated in team sports.
What the study found
After examining the information collected, however, the researchers
found that time the students spent on social networking sites cut into
time they spent exercising or being physically active. The study also found people who were fans of Facebook were less likely to play team sports.
"Time is a finite resource, so time spent in social networking must
come at the expense of other activities. Our study suggests that
physical activity may be one of those activities," study lead author Dr
Wendy Cousins, a psychologist at the University of Ulster, said in a
university news release.
"Our findings are intriguing," she added, "but we have not conclusively
demonstrated that social networking causes lower levels of physical
activity. We will need to carry out more research to see if it really is
a case of Facebook makes you fat rather than Twitter makes you fitter."
The study was expected to be presented at the annual conference of the
British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology in
Liverpool. Research presented at medical meetings is typically
considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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Health24