Do bedroom TVs increase the risk of childhood obesity?

by Aimee Keenan-Greene

A new study in the May-June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion says hispanic children with TV in their bedrooms were more likely to be overweight.

The researchers sent surveys to 315 West Texas parents of 597 children ages 5 to 9 in kindergarten, first and second grade. They collected information on children’s weight, age, gender and body mass index.

“Seventy percent of the children had a TV in their bedroom, and 32 percent were already overweight or they were at risk for becoming overweight due to unhealthy behaviors,” said Du Feng, Ph.D., lead author and professor of human development and family studies at Texas Tech University.

Children with TV in their bedrooms spent 3.5 hours a day in front of the screen compared with 2.58 hours of daily watching by kids who did not have a TV in their room. The kids without personal TV also had parents who encouraged physical activity.

Kids with their own TV tended to drink more sugar-sweetened drinks, and eat fewer fruits and veggies and more fast food.

“Bedroom TV leads to more screen time, sedentary behavior, less parental support of physical activity and increased fast food intake,” added Feng.

Researchers acknowledge the study does not link definitively bedroom TV watching with being overweight or having a higher body mass index.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.

In Rhode Island, the Department of Health reports  27 percent of youths surveyed watched three or more hours of TV per day.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):

• Two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
  
• Kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games
  
• Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
  
• Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
  
• Kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

The CDC says childhood obesity affects approximately 12.5 million children and teens nationwide. Obese children are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes, than are other children and adolescents.

In Rhode Island, health officials say one in five children start kindergarten being overweight. 


Additional Sources: 
1. Feng-D, et al. Effects of TV in the bedroom of young Hispanic children. Am J Health Promo25(5s), 2011.
2. Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.

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