Okay, kids... That's enough TV for today.

Too Much TV in Childhood Tied to Poor Health Later

Fri Jul 16, 2004 03:39 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of television watched as a child is directly related to the risk of health problems as an adult, new research shows. Although previous reports have linked childhood television viewing with adverse health, no long-term studies have looked at the effects on adult health, lead author Dr. Robert J. Hancox and colleagues, from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, note in The Lancet medical journal. The team studied 1000 subjects who were born in Dunedin in the early 1970s and followed at regular intervals until 26 years of age. Television viewing was assessed with interviews conducted at 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 21 years of age. Television viewing between the ages of 5 and 15 years increased the risk of high cholesterol levels, smoking, poor fitness, and being overweight in adulthood. In contrast, such viewing had no effect on the risk of high blood pressure. On a population level, the authors estimate that 17 percent of overweight, 15 percent of poor fitness, 15 percent of elevated cholesterol, and 17 percent of current smoking in 26-year-olds could be attributed to watching more than 2 hours per day of television during childhood and adolescence. "Our results suggest that excessive television viewing in young people is likely to have far-reaching consequences for adult health," the authors conclude. "We concur with the American Academy of Pediatrics that parents should limit children's viewing to 1 to 2 hours per day; in fact, data suggest that less than 1 hour a day would be even better." In a related editorial, Drs. David S. Ludwig and Steven L. Gortmaker, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, note that "a likely explanation for these findings is that dietary and other lifestyle habits learned in childhood and influenced by television continue into adulthood. Ultimately, parents must reclaim from television the responsibility for educating and entertaining their young children." SOURCE: The Lancet, July 17, 2004.

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