The United Chiropractic Association warns that bad posture due to mobile phone use could shorten your life. The forward-leaning posture that many people adopt when operating mobile devices increases the risk of an early death in elderly people, and there are fears that younger people could also be knocking time off their lives.
The United Chiropractic Association (UCA) claims that poor posture is as big a health risk as obesity. Studies suggest a link between forward-leaning posture in older people and hyper kyphosis, which is associated with pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems.
“We tend to drop our heads forward which rounds the shoulders and this is what we term forward-leaning posture,” said UCA executive member Estelle Zauner-Maughan. “People are now definitely at an increased risk of having problems through the top of their neck and back because of their posture, which is causing a change in the curve of the back. And there is an increased risk that they will develop this earlier on in life because of the length of time they’ve been sitting at computers or using mobile devices.”
The UCA is urging people to have their posture checked by a registered chiropractor and to take steps to safeguard their posture and health. “We can change our habits. For example, restrict the amount of time you spend on mobile devices. And bring them up to your eye level, so that you’re not looking down.”