Dive Into Your Imagination

What's the Risk?

Now you might think that as a parent a TV in the bedroom is not a bad idea, gives you some time to yourself, allows you the freedom to watch the program of your choice. Well there may be a need to rethink this strategy if you are concerned about your child’s health and future chronic disease risk.


 

Recent research suggests that having a TV in the bedroom significantly increases the chance of your child achieving unhealthy weight status. What was most interesting in this study was that even when taking into account physical activity levels, internet usage, and team sport participation, a TV in the bedroom independently predicted being overweight. The mechanism for this result is unknown at this stage. But what it does mean is that there are some other factors associated with TV viewing in the bedroom that are contributing to unhealthy weight gain. This may be related to a consumption of high energy dense foods away from parental restriction, greater exposure and likely influence of food marketing, again without receiving a balanced viewpoint from an informed adult. Access to foods brought in by peers or peer pressure to succumb to marketing techniques.

We already know that an overweight child is much more likely to be an overweight adult possibly leading to a detriment in quality of life both physically and psychologically.

Current physical activity guidelines in many countries suggest at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day for children and a restriction of sedentary screen based behaviors to less than 2 hrs per day.

Children will be spontaneously active given the chance, so have a go at reducing sedentary behavior and watch them move, play and learn away from the electronic babysitter. Get the TV out of your kids room and get those kids outside!

Abstract from the research article from the

U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

Australian physical activity recommendations for children and youth

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