Are you guilty of scrolling through your phone anytime, anywhere? Well, you may want to spend less time doing that if you really care about your health.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) revealed that children and teenagers that are slaves to smart devices are at risk of ergonomic injuries such as spine and neck problems, The Sun Daily reported.
Chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said a pilot study conducted recently by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) showed that a total of 27kg of weight is being added on the neck of children who used digital devices in an unhealthy angle. No joke, it’s like placing a 7-year-old kid on your neck.
Digital devices are so important in our daily life nowadays, it comes with a price, costing our health in the process. Lee said parents should supervise their children on the usage of these electronic devices to avoid future health complications.
“Nowadays, children as young as the age of three are already addicted to smart devices. There are teenagers who have to undergo therapy because of carpal tunnel syndrome due to the excessive use of electronic devices,” he said at the pre-launch of the 21st Conference for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) and the 5th Scientific Conference on Occupational Safety and Health (SciCOSH) on March 21.
With regards to the harmful issue, Lee said a more in-depth study on the ergonomic aspect of the impact of smart device addiction will be carried out by the NioshErgonomic Centre of Excellence in Johor Bahru.
“The findings of the study will be made known to the public because Niosh is concerned about the issues that will arise in the future such as the costs for treatment or therapy,” he said.
Time to really correct our posture and cut down on spending time on electronic devices!
Also read: Woman Suffers Blood Clots in Brain After Using Phone For 20 Hours