The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Too much TV can shorten your life Posted: 15 Jun 2011 07:53 AM PDT  The habit of plunking oneself down in front of the television and watching for hours makes up about five hours of daily activity on average in the United States, but is also a prevalent practice around the world. – Photo by shutterstock.com The results of the meta-analysis performed by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health are published in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. More than two hours per day of TV-watching boosted risk of type two diabetes and heart disease, while more than three hours a day increased a person's risk of dying prematurely. Each two-hour increment in viewing per day was linked to a 20 per cent higher risk for type two diabetes; a 15 per cent increased risk for fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular disease; and a 13 per cent higher risk for all-cause mortality. "While the associations between time spent viewing TV and risk of type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease were linear, the risk of all-cause mortality appeared to increase with TV viewing duration of greater than three hours per day," the study said. The habit of plunking oneself down in front of the television and watching for hours makes up about five hours of daily activity on average in the United States, but is also a prevalent practice around the world. In Europe, people spend about 40 per cent of their daily free time – or three hours – in front of the tube, and in Australia the average is 50 per cent of daily free time or four hours, the study said. "The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type two diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality," said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. "We should not only promote increasing physical activity levels but also reduce sedentary behaviours, especially prolonged TV watching." – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Japan theme park to launch record-breaking ride Posted: 15 Jun 2011 02:39 AM PDT  The Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park is to launch the Takabisha, a world-record roller coaster. – Photo courtesy of the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park The Takabisha ride is scheduled to open at the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park near the base of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi prefecture on July 16. It will feature seven major twists over its 1,000-metre length, a sharp rise to a peak of 43 metres – which triggers a moment of weightlessness before riders take what the operator of the ride describes as "a nosedive" – and sections that plunge riders into complete darkness. The part of the ride that is ground-breaking, however, is the breakneck freefall at 121 degrees. The park has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to have the ride certified as the steepest in the world. Thanks to the assistance of linear motors on the cars – as well as the effects of gravity – riders on the Y3 billion (RM112.94 million) attraction will reach a speed of 100kph and the ride will last for just 112 seconds. Once the ride has been certified, it will be the 14th Guinness World Record set by Fuji-Q. The park is already home to the Fujiyama ride, Dodompa and Eejanaika, putting the park among the leading venues in the world for thrill-seekers. The Kingda Ka ride at the Six Flags Great Adventure park in New Jersey is the present holder of the title of the tallest steel roller coaster in the world, at 139 metres, with a maximum vertical drop of 127 metres. The prize for the fastest coaster goes to the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, in Abu Dhabi, which only opened last November and reaches an impressive speed of 240 kph. The record that Takabisha is looking to overhaul has been held by the Mumbo Jumbo ride at Flamingoland in Yorkshire, northern England since July 2009. With an incline of only 112 degrees, Takabisha will be fully 9 degrees steeper for the riders. – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan