Lots of time spent in front of a TV early in life may have lasting consequences, indicates a study that connected the viewing habits of Canadian toddlers with waist circumference and muscular fitness later in childhood.
Using the data collected periodically for 1,314 kids participating in the Qubec Longitudinal Study of , researchers found increase in TV viewing starting when kids were 29 months old and were linked to reduced jumping ability in second grade and bigger waist circumferences in fourth grade, Live Science reported.
The implications may be lifelong, wrote the researchers: “The preschool years represent a period of remarkable sensitivity to environments and experiences and thus account for the origins of many lifestyle behaviours and preferences.
A past research has found that too much TV-watching at age 2 is associated with less engagement in classroom activities, less weekend exercise and a greater chance of being picked on by classmates in the fourth grade.
In the new study, the researchers used the standing long jump as a measure of physical fitness because it requires the explosive leg strength necessary for many sports.
Waist circumference, meanwhile, is a measure of abdominal fat and can be linked to poor cardiovascular health and other problems. Extra weight when a child is heading into adolescence is likely to represent more health risks than weight gained during other periods of development, they wrote.
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends that toddlers watch no more than two hours of television per day; however, many exceed that during this critical period for the development of habits and preferences, according to the authors.
As part of the longitudinal study on child development, parents of participating children were asked as to how much time per day their child spends watching TV when the kids were 29 and 53 months old, just shy of 4.5 years.
Follow-up interviews years later found that for each hour per week the kids spent in front of the TV when they were 29 months old, the distance they were able to jump decreased by 0.14 inches (0.361 centimeters) when they were in the second grade.
From 29 months to 53 months old, every hour of TV-watching a week is linked to an additional 0.11-inch (0.285 cm) decrease in the second-grade jump as well as a 0.2-inch (0.047 cm) increase in waist line when they were in the fourth grade.
“TV is a modifiable lifestyle factor and people need to be aware that toddler viewing habits may contribute to subsequent physical health,” the team’s lead researcher, Caroline Fitzpatrick of New York University, said in a statement. She conducted the research while at the University de Montral and Saint-Justine’s Hospital Research Centre.
Though scientists realise it can be tricky to limit television, there are TV-limiting tips that can make it easier such as taking TVs out of kids’ bedrooms and using on-demand television to curtail viewing time.
Laziness kills!
Lack of exercise is causing 5.3 million deaths a year across the world, which equal those caused by smoking, a study suggests. The team of 33 researchers from Cambridge University, UK said governments need to look at ways to make physical activity more convenient, affordable and safer, BBC Health reported. That equals about one in 10 deaths from diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and breast and colon cancer. Researchers said that smoking and inactivity kill a similar number of people. Smoking rates are much lower than the number of inactive people. They said that it is required a new way of thinking, suggesting the public need to be warned about the dangers of inactivity rather than just reminded of the benefits of it.
It is recommended that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling or gardening, each week. The global challenge is clear – make physical activity a public health priority throughout the world to improve health and reduce the burden of disease.
