Teenagers are piling on weight, thanks to TV
Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
Switch off the television if you want your teenaged child to be healthy. Teenagers are piling on weight and suffering from high blood pressure, thanks to long hours in front of the television.
Three recent studies in the US and Brazil show that the duration of TV viewing is directly liked to weight gain in youngsters. Studies published this month in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) and Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) and another released early this year by Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, with Institute of Child Health, UK, directly blame television for obesity and high blood pressure in adolescents.
"While watching television, there is a tendency to binge on food, which contributes to obesity and disturbs sleep patterns. This has an adverse effect on blood pressure," said Nitin Desai, consulting pediatrician at P.D. Hinduja Hospital.
According to pediatrician Deepak Ugra, watching television for long hours could be linked to increased kidney problems among teens. "Obesity is a major problem for children. This eventually leads to higher blood pressure levels," he said. Obesity can increase risk factors like type II diabetes and hypertension - for chronic renal ailments.
The JAMA study found a steady decline in physical activity in 1,032 children - tracked between the ages of nine and 15 - in 10 places around the US.
The study in Brazil covered 4,452 children between 10 and 12 years. It found that increased TV viewing was linked with greater body fat, obesity and higher blood pressure.
Switch off the television if you want your teenaged child to be healthy. Teenagers are piling on weight and suffering from high blood pressure, thanks to long hours in front of the television.
Three recent studies in the US and Brazil show that the duration of TV viewing is directly liked to weight gain in youngsters. Studies published this month in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) and Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) and another released early this year by Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, with Institute of Child Health, UK, directly blame television for obesity and high blood pressure in adolescents.
"While watching television, there is a tendency to binge on food, which contributes to obesity and disturbs sleep patterns. This has an adverse effect on blood pressure," said Nitin Desai, consulting pediatrician at P.D. Hinduja Hospital.
According to pediatrician Deepak Ugra, watching television for long hours could be linked to increased kidney problems among teens. "Obesity is a major problem for children. This eventually leads to higher blood pressure levels," he said. Obesity can increase risk factors like type II diabetes and hypertension - for chronic renal ailments.
The JAMA study found a steady decline in physical activity in 1,032 children - tracked between the ages of nine and 15 - in 10 places around the US.
The study in Brazil covered 4,452 children between 10 and 12 years. It found that increased TV viewing was linked with greater body fat, obesity and higher blood pressure.
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