Submitted by Armen Hareyan on Mar 5th, 2008
Reducing the hours kids spend on TV watching and computer playing will help tackle obesity.
Researchers from University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, examined 70 obese children aged from 4 to 7. They were having at least 14 hours of TV watching and computer playing weekly.
Half of children had strong restriction cutting TV watching and computer playing by 10% until the hours were reached 50% of initial time. The rest of children didn't have any restrictions.
By the end of the study children with no restriction reduced the hours by 5.2 hours a week, those with restrictions cut 17.5 hours a week and lost more weight.
Fast food advertisements shown on TV make junk food very popular among children. Also, during TV watching and computer playing children are more inclined to eat snacks and take sugary drinks. Less screen time makes healthy eating more possible, but it doesn't affect exercising habits.
16% of US children aged from 6 to 19 are obese, and the number keeps increasing by 45% in a decade. Scientists worldwide are offering new researches and way to reduce obesity rates, but the cases still increase. Scientists look for more complex ways to tackle obesity.
Source:
eMaxHealth 