A new study showed that only one hour in front of a TV a day increases the risk of obesity in young children by almost a half, as reported by the Internet publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years old Pannochka. net The authors of the study say that pre-school children and first-graders who are allowed to watch TV even one hour a day have a greater risk of obesity than peers who sit in front of the screen for no more than 30 minutes.
Scientists presented these results on April 26 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) held in San Diego,.
In developed countries, especially in the United States, in recent years, society has been desperately struggling with the epidemic of childhood obesity. Therefore, studies that identify new risk factors or clarify already known, are extremely relevant.
Previous work has shown that prolonged sitting in front of the TV is fraught with obesity and overweight in children. This is not surprising and quite logical. But increasing the risk of obesity when watching TV for just an hour a day (this, incidentally, is practiced in many kindergartens) - the conclusion is quite unexpected and alarming.
For their study, a group of scientists from the University of Virginia analyzed the data of a nationwide survey of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey. It was attended by the parents of 11,113 children who in 2011-2012 attended pre-school children's institutions. The study was conducted with the assistance of the National Center for Statistics in Education (National Center for Education Statistics).
As the authors of the work say, they widely used the answers received from their parents: the number of hours in front of the TV on weekdays and weekends, computer games, the growth and weight of children. One year after the survey, the height and weight of 10,853 children were determined repeatedly, and the scientists again asked parents about the habits of their children.
The results showed that in United States kindergartens, children watch TV on average 3.3 hours per day. Both preschoolers and first-graders who watched television for 1-2 hours a day had a significantly larger body mass index (BMI) than peers who sat behind the screen for 30 minutes a day, even after adding three important factors (socially -economic status of the family, race, use of the computer).
And now about figures. Preschoolers and first-graders who watch TV at an hour a day are 50-60% more likely to have excessive body weight and 58-73% are more likely to suffer from obesity than those who spend less than an hour in front of the screen. Curiously, the time behind the computer is not associated with an increase in body weight.
"Given the huge amount of data on the relationship between watching TV and unhealthy body weight, pediatricians and parents should pay more attention to limiting the time in front of the screen. In the light of recent data, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAR) should lower the recommended rates, "says the author of the study, Dr. Mark D. DeBoer, a professor of pediatrics from the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Virginia.
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