Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web make children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking. To study how exposure to media sources impacts the physical health of children and adolescents, researchers from America analysed 173 studies done since 1980, which focused on television, but some also looked at video games, films, music, and computer and Internet use. Three quarters of the studies found that increased exposure to media was associated with negative health outcomes. The studies offered strong evidence that children who get more media exposure are more likely to become obese, start smoking and begin earlier sexual activity than those who spend less time in front of a screen. The studies further indicated that more media exposure is also linked to drug and alcohol use and poorer school performance. The evidence was less clear about an association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Experts for decades have expressed concerns about the impact of violence and sexual content in some TV programs, movies and video games on young viewers. What adds to the problem is that children spend most of their time sitting on a couch watching TV or playing computer games when they could be running around outside. The above findings add to the already existing evidence that greater the hours in front of TV or computer, greater the chances of developing obesity and other health related problems.
U.S. National Institutes of Health Meeting
December 2008