Take a few minutes to read a brief and informative piece about the negative health effects of too much screen time for children and how you can set boundaries for your kids - or perhaps yourself. In a Stanford Medicine News Q&A, pediatrician Thomas Robinson, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, explains how watching TV or playing video games contributes to inactivity, overeating and obesity. Robinson also speaks to the modern-day concern of restricting access to screen devices that can also be educational tools, such as the iPad.
From the Q&A:
What's the relationship between excessive screen time and childhood obesity?
It's a true cause-and-effect relationship. The more time kids spend with screens, the less time they are spending being active. The best evidence supports two primary mechanisms--that kids eat more while watching screens and that exposure to food advertising leads to an increased eating of high-sugar, high-fat and calorie-dense foods. Lots of research shows that kids--and adults--eat more when distracted by a screen. So one of the most important things a family can do is eliminate eating while watching TV and other screens.
Previously: Talking to kids about junk food ads, This is your 4-year-old on cartoons, Study: Too much TV, computer could hurt kids' mental health, Does TV watching, or prolonged sitting, contribute to child obesity rates? and Paper explores effects of electronic media on kids' health
