A new study found that excessive use of cell phone can lead to poor physical fitness.
Researchers from the College of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University conducted a study to determine the effects of using cell phones on physical fitness. Cell phones have increasingly become a tool for what is known as sedentary behavior like playing video games, surfing the Internet or watching videos. However, unlike the television, cell phones are small and portable, making them possible to use while doing physical activity.
Authors of this study conducted a survey on 300 college students from the Midwest about their cell phone usage and activity level. Among these students, 49 underwent a fitness level and body composition test.
Researchers were surprised to find that despite the portability of cell phones, not many people were physically active while using cell phones. They noted that the students who spent more than 14 hours a day on their cell phones were less fit than students who spent approximately 90 minutes a day on their phones.
"Now that I have switched to the iPhone I would say it definitely decreases my physical activity because before I just had a Blackberry, so I didn't have much stuff on it. But now, if I'm bored, I can just download whatever I want," one of the students in the study said.
Researchers Jacob Barkley and Andrew Lepp said that the findings of their study can be used to determine a person's risk for a multitude of health issues related to an inactive lifestyle.
The study, which was published online in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, is the first to analyze the relation between cell phone usage and physical activities and fitness.
