More TV leads to larger waistlines for kids

By John von Radowitz
Published on 16/07/2012 00:00

TODDLERS’ television viewing habits have a direct impact on their fitness and fatness in later childhood, a study has shown.

Each hour per week of television watched by a two-year-old corresponded to a reduced level of long jump performance by the age of eight to ten, researchers found.

Every extra hour of weekly TV between the ages of two and four also led to an almost 0.5mm increase in waist circumference. For children watching an average 8.82 hours a week, this amounted to a 0.41cm fatter waistline.

Youngsters exposed to more than 18 hours of television a week – almost 15 per cent of those studied – were almost a centimetre wider around the middle by ten years of age.

Lead researcher Dr Linda Pagani, from the University of Montreal, said: “The bottom line is that watching too much television – beyond recommended amounts – is not good. These findings support clinical suspicions that more screen time in general contributes to the rise in excess weight in our 
population.”

The study is reported online in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Physical fitness was measured by means of a standard long jump test, which provides a good indication of overall athletic ability. Sports such as football, skating and basketball all require “explosive leg strength” which can be assessed by long jump performance.

The scientists found that each weekly hour of television at two years of age was associated with a reduced jump distance of about a third of a centimetre by the fourth grade.

Dr Pagani said that across the Western world, both children and adults had experienced “dramatic increases in unhealthy weight” in recent decades.”