Is TV Affecting Your Teen’s Weight?

By Jenna Norris, MS Student, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, Gail Kauwell, PhD, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, and Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Karla Shelnutt, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida, and Suzanna Smith, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences
This post is honor of Screen-Free Week, observed around the world from May 5-11. Learn more at ScreenFree.org.

In recent years, it seems that our screens and TV sets, instead of our trusty canines, have become man’s best friend. At some point, many of us remind our children to turn these devices off and do something else. Parents may feel concerned that kids who spend a lot of time with screens are in danger of becoming inactive “couch potatoes” who may even run an increased risk of obesity. But is this fear based in reality?

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education Behavior suggests that it may be. Researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a 1-year experiment focused on TV watching and weight with parents and teens from 90 families. The researchers recorded teens’ and adults’ body mass index, the number of hours of TV they watched, their food and beverage consumption, and their physical activity. In some of the homes, special TV-limiting devices turned televisions off automatically after a weekly limit was watched.

At the end of the year-long study, teens who had watched less TV had healthier weights. In fact, reduced TV time was the only factor associated with a better weight status at the end of the study. However, this association was found only with teens, not with adults.

This research suggests that reducing TV time is a simple, effective strategy to prevent excess weight gain in your adolescent. It’s especially important to keep TVs out of teens’ bedrooms, since other research shows that teens with bedroom TVs watch three times more TV than teens without them.

This May, you might also consider taking an opportunity to “unplug” entertainment screens for a few days. May 5-11 is Screen-Free Week, an annual challenge sponsored by the Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood. Screen-free Week is a fun opportunity for your family to explore living without entertainment screen media for a brief time. It can be an eye-opening experience, as well as a great way to spend more time together, get active, and find ways to have fun without relying so much on TV and other screen media. Visit the Screen-Free Week website to learn more. There may even be special events planned in your area.

(Photo credit: Watching TV by Suedehead. CC BY 2.0, cropped.)

Further Reading

Screen Free Activities and Resources –A board about reducing screentime and screen-free activies on Pinterest

Reduce Screen Time–Info on screentime and health from the National Institutes of Health

101 Screenfree Activities–from the Marlborough Education Foundation

Reference:

French, S.A., Mitchell, N.R., & Hannan, P.J. (2012). Decrease in television viewing predicts lower body mass index at 1-year follow-up in adolescents, but not adults. Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44(5), 415-422.

 

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Posted: May 5, 2014


Category: Health & Nutrition, Relationships & Family, Work & Life
Tags: Nutrition And Food Systems, Obesity, Parenting


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