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Research on Obesity & T.V.

May 26, 2011 | By Beverly Bird
Research on Obesity & T.V.
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Most studies into the relationship between obesity and television use children because poor eating habits early in life result in weight and health problems for adults. According to the American Heart Association, arteriosclerosis begins early in life and some teenagers already exhibit plaque buildup. Research focus has been on nipping the problem in the bud, addressing it in childhood to combat long-term ramifications.

Children's Nutrition Research Center

In 2008, the Children's National Research Center in Houston studied 1,800 preschoolers between the ages of 2 and 5. Research compared children who watched more than two hours of television a day with those who watched two hours or less. Videos and computer time were included in the study. Almost 31 percent of the children were found to watch more than two hours of television a day, and all of these children were either overweight or showed indications of a future problem. The CNRD study concluded that the link between childhood obesity and television results not only from sedentary time versus physical activity, but also from snacking while watching TV and viewing commercials aimed at promoting fattening foods.

UCLA School of Public Health

Frederick Zimmerman and Janice Bell with the UCLA School of Public Health studied 3,563 children in 1997, with follow-up research in 2002. Their study concentrated not on how much time children spend watching television but on what they are watching. They found a strong connection between viewing commercials and higher body mass indexes, especially in children younger than 7. According to Zimmerman and Bell, up to 95 percent of television ads in children's programming are for food, most of which is offering negligible nutrition.

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois also studied the connection between television commercials in children's programming and overweight children in 2005. According to Kristen Harrison, a speech communication professor at the university, products high in sugar and low in nutrients dominate these commercials: 32 percent advertise candy, 31 percent advertise cereal and 9 percent push fast food. Harrison found that the advertising deliberately misleads children into believing these foods, especially the cereals, are good for them by linking their nutritional benefits with weight loss. She found that this confuses children as to what they are supposed to eat.

Ohio State University

Ohio State University studied 8,550 children in 2005, all of them born in 2001. The authors of the study, Sarah Anderson, assistant professor of epidemiology, and Robert Whitaker, professor of public health and pediatrics, found that the children who shared three common habits had the lowest rates of obesity. They ate meals with their families at least five nights a week, routinely got more than 10 hours sleep per night and watched less than two hours of television a day. According to growth charts issued by the Centers for Disease Control in 2000, 24.5 percent of the children whose lifestyles did not include any of these things were obese. Children who regularly engaged in all three practices showed only a 14.3 percent rate of obesity.

References

Article reviewed by Shawn Candela Last updated on: May 26, 2011

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