More about TV in Children's Bedrooms & Health

On March 4th, I blogged about a study showing that TV and children's bedrooms don't mix. Today I found some additional information on the topic at the blog of the Pediatric Health Associates.

Here's some of what was reported:

Weight:

• One study showed preschool children with a television in their bedroom were more likely to be overweight.

• Another study decreased the amount of the time spent by children watching television and found that their BMI (body mass index) also decreased. Interestingly, they found the children snacked less, with a decrease in more than 100 calories per day.

• Other researchers also found that children are more likely to snack while watching television, as well as have a decrease in physical activity.

• Along with this, television advertising promotes unhealthy eating habits to children; an average child sees 20,000 television ads per year, with 2/3 of them for food, usually junk food.

• Even adults' health is impacted by the amount of television they watched as children. Researchers found that 17% of those with increased weight, 15% of those with an elevated cholesterol level, 17% of smokers and 15% of those with poor fitness can be attributed to watching television for more than 2 hours per day during childhood and adolescence .

Smoking:

• Adolescents aged 12-14 years old were two times more likely to start cigarette smoking (42% vs 16%) if they had a television in their bedroom.
  
• It was also found that children and adolescents who watched more television began smoking at an earlier age.

Sleep:

• A Pediatrics study showed that kindergarteners with a television in their bedroom not only had more sleep problems, but also found they were less "emotionally responsive," meaning they were not as bothered by a change in their routine. The researchers concluded that the television in the bedroom dampened the intensity with which children responded to stimulation.

Seems as though the news about television just gets worse and worse. Did I ever tell you about my friend Ola, whose mother took the TV out of the house every summer? Ola's convinced it's a big part of the reason why she and her young family are more physically active than others she knows.

Of course, you don't have to go to such extremes -- unless you'd like to. There's actually some wonderful children's programming available, a bit of which I've consulted on. The solution here instead appears to be rather simple: No TV in the children's bedrooms. And when it comes to TV viewing, it's a matter of moderation and supervision.

Comments

[Childrens Bedroom Furniture]

Thanks for this very useful information. Then I guess I have to move out now my kid's tv on their rooms to avoid all the necessities above.