Overweight children and TV

Studies show that the more television a child watches, the more likely that child is to be heavy. Each additional hour of TV watching (on a consistent basis) directly increases the likelihood of that child being overweight. Having a TV in the bedroom raises this risk even further. Children who have TVs in the bedroom watch an extra hour of TV each day (and their parents don't even know about it). It is not clear if watching a lot of TV causes a child to be overweight or if overweight children tend to watch a lot of TV (because perhaps they don't feel as comfortable playing sports or doing other more active activities). One study lowered the weight of the children involved simply by decreasing their TV time. Practically any other activity burns more calories. An interesting finding is that a child's resting metabolic rate might be LOWER while watching TV than when staring blankly at a wall. This may be due to the fact that people fidget less when watching TV or that they get into an almost trance-like state while watching TV. Eating in front of the TV also leads to weight gain. Who among us hasn't been engrossed in a show, only to realize that suddenly half a bag of chips have disappeared! People eat many more calories while watching TV because they aren't paying attention to their food or to their body's response to the food. Commercials also prompt children to crave unhealthy foods. The average child sees 40,000 commercials each year- mostly for high fat, high calorie foods. Just watching a food commercial can cause a child to be hungry. So- what can a parent do? LIMIT TV TIME! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends less than one or two hours of TV each day. If you are not home to monitor, you can buy a TV device that limits children's TV time. The parent programs how much time each child is allowed to watch TV; a child must enter their code to turn the TV on. Once the maximum allottment is reached, the TV is turned off and cannot be turned on again until the next day (or until the parent resets it). Also, never let your children eat in front of the TV. And do not put a TV in your child's bedroom. Parents must monitor their children's TV watching- both in terms of time and content. A TV should never be a babysitter!