Reducing Time on TV and Computer Helps Fight Pediatric Obesity among Children
“Television viewing is the main reason for the consumption of fast foods and beverages that are advertised in the television,” says a study.
It is found in a study that by cutting the time of television and computer viewing will reduce the consumption of food that in turn loses the weight. Increased fat consumption is the reason for the large increase in pediatric obesity. The study may help to solve the problem of obesity in United States where 16% of the children aged between 6 and 19 years old are obese and it will increase to 45% in another ten years. The advertisements embedded between the cartoons increases the choice of having the advertised items with the pre-school goers and also prompt eating. March issue of the “Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine” published these findings.
Leonard H. Epstein, a professor in the department of pediatrics and social and preventive medicines at the ‘University of Buffalo’, the ‘State University of New York’ and his colleagues conducted a study among seventy obese children aged 4-7 who watched television and played computer games for at least 14 hours a week.
The researchers fixed a monitoring device on the each computer and television used by the child. The device allows the reduction of time by 10% weekly and until it is reduced to a 50%. A unique code has been given to each family member to activate the computer or the television. The kids received incentives to such as money and stickers for spending less time in front of television and computer.
To another group of obese children there was no restriction for using the television and computers. The study found that the children who had no restrictions reduced the use of television and computer to 5.2 hours a week. But the restricted children reduced the time to 17.5 hours a week. The children with restricted time lost more weight than the unrestricted children. But there was no difference between the two groups in their physical activity.
The researchers concluded that the device helps in eliminating parental vigilance and to impose family and also reduces disciplinary action, if the child is inactive. The most important thing to use the device is that there is choice of time for watching television and for playing computer rather than not watching it until the homework is completed.
According to David Katz, the director of ‘Yale University School of Medicine Prevention Research Center’, the study shows an advantage to this warning i.e. by reducing the time of watching television and computer helps in preventing obesity through several mechanisms. Reduction of screen time is more important than the diet than to physical activity pattern.
Related Links:
- Device helps fat kids cut screen time, and weight
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