Children better off with less TV: expert
BY BEN HEATHER
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Education
If you don't want an obese child who is likely to smoke and flunk school, then turn off the television and put them to bed, a childhood researcher says.
At the Early Childhood Education conference in Queenstown on Saturday , Dr Bob Hancox said excessive television watching was as bad as a poor diet or inactivity when it came to obesity.
Speaking to The Southland Times yesterday, Dr Hancox said if all children watched less than two hours of television daily, obesity would be cut by about 15 per cent.
"If people are watching television they are not exercising," he said. "There is also evidence that people eat more and eat different things while watching television."
Every hour of television children watched beyond two hours meant they were about 15 per cent more likely to leave school without a qualification and about 25 per cent less likely to get a university degree.
They were also more likely to take up smoking and develop attention difficulties, he said.
The comments come as New Zealanders watch more and more television, as well as trawl the internet and play computer games.
Last year television watching in New Zealand was higher than ever, with the average person aged 5 and up watching more than three hours daily.
Dr Hancox also said for obesity, lack of sleep was as bad as television.
Children between 5 and 11 who had less than 11 hours' sleep were far more likely to become obese, he said.
Dr Hancox is the deputy director of Otago University's Multidisciplinary Heath and Development Research Unit, which is tracking the lives of 1000 New Zealanders born in 1972 and 1973. The study's previous check on the group was at age 32 in 2005. Another check would be done next year, he said.
While the group had grown up when television was the main medium, the study would probably also apply to the internet and computer games today, he said.
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommended children should not have more than two hours of television time a day, he said.
"I don't think that's an unreasonable limit to aim for, it would certainly be less than most children are watching at the moment."
The academy also recommends children under 2 not watch any television.
ben.heather@stl.co.nz
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Having conferences to discuss abt all such researches is appreciated. However, it would be more beneficial if such facts are spoken about and conveyed to kids from a young age, by making sure schools do discuss such facts with children in some way or the other. If parents have to keep telling their children about these, there comes a stage when parents sound like ...blah blah blah to kids!
Not everyone wants to go to University. I watched telly alot when i was young and yes i dropped out of school, i dont smoke and no i dont have a qualifaction. But i have been in my job since i left school as a business administrator and im getting further then my pupils i used to go to school with. How about making fatty food more expensive and healthy food cheaper the that will reduce obesity!
Basil & Hmmmm...representing the unfortunately large proportion of intellectually stunted, anti-academic kiwis. Remember kids stay the same as everyone or you'll be punished. Although reportage sampling of research data and delivering it as an edict, which no good scientific research would condone, certainly doesn't help.
It never fails to amaze me when we have statistical findings being reported as facts.
"Children between 5 and 11 who had less than 11 hours' sleep were far more likely to become obese". Is a lack of sleep really a cause of obesity? NO! Lack of exercise and poor diet is.
The best has to be they are "more likely to take up smoking". Where is the scientific proof to that statement?
As Benjamin Disraeli said "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
can i get a degree because I already knew this? honestly, who funds this stuff? what's next? 'Expert Finds Men and Women Attracted to Eachother'
Basil you moron, if it was that obvious why do so many kids watch so much telly. Do you think parents are deliberately wanting their kids to get fat? For the same reason we get bombarded with the same advertisement over and over - this is the kind of data that needs to be published every month to get the message through no matter how obvious. And I see in the news my friend pammie anderson admits she was a nymphomaniac - now we all knew that - but we still had to be told!
#4 so Basil, it's true that you know everything then, after-all you quoted a rock musician. Actually I am a researcher, and I bet you'd have some opinions about the area of my research as it is very contentious. I also bet you actually wouldn't know anything about the complexities and social issues entailed and would be happy to make uninformed blanket statements not backed up by evidence. Once again, learn to understand science or don't bother participating.
What gets me is the fact that this article has so many references to obesity and lack of exercise, but just *one sentence* about the really important association between TV and poor academic performance.
These days we all know that if we don't want to be obese we need to exercise and eat right. It's relatively easy to make those lifestyle changes. But lack of education traps kids in a cycle of poverty that is very difficult to break.
Well toranadave #6, very perceptive. I'd love to stick around and offer further comment, but the afternoon soaps are coming on .............
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Basil Fawlty, what academic qualifications do you have?
Bob