28 Apr Increased Time Watching TV Linked To Childhood Obesity

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mark D. DeBoer, MD, MSc, MCR
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, University of Virginia

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. DeBoer: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch no more than 2 hours of TV daily. We wanted to see if children watching shorter amounts of TV were more likely to have higher weight status. We found that children in kindergarten who watched 1-2 hours a day were more than 40% more likely to be overweight and obese and gained more unhealthy weight over the next year.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. DeBoer: Even shorter amounts of TV are associated with unhealthy weight gain. Clinicians should encourage parents to restrict TV viewing and replace it with other healthy activities, including physical activity and learning opportunities.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. DeBoer: We would love to see evaluations into how reductions in TV viewing effect future weight gain and development.

Citation:

Viewing as Little as 1 Hour of Television Daily Is Associated with Higher Weight Status in Kindergarteners: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

Presented April 26 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego – See more at: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Just-an-Hour-of-TV-a-Day-Linked-to-Unhealthy-Weight-in-Kindergartner

Last Updated on June 10, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD