Tune Out Your Television for Better Health

American children, on average, watch three to four hours of television per day. Many watch more than that. Sound like a lot? Think about your average day. In the morning, the kids might manage an hour or more while you shower, make lunches, and dress the baby. After school, it’s hard to argue with a child who just wants to flop in front of the TV for an hour to unwind. Besides, the TV keeps them busy while you cook dinner. Before bed, everyone gathers to watch the baseball game or your favorite sitcom. Three hours come and go pretty easily.

How is TV a problem for health? Watching several hours of TV each day can result in less physical activity, more overeating, and greater risk for becoming overweight. In fact, new research shows that food advertising is very effective at influencing what children eat and that exposure to TV advertising is strongly linked to body fatness.

Here are a few quick facts on TV advertising:

•    Every day, children receive about 60 commercial messages from television alone. More than half of these are for food.
•    Close to 98% of food commercials on weekend morning network TV are for unhealthy foods high in fat, sodium, cholesterol, or sugar.
•    The amount of marketing aimed at kids has more than doubled during the last 10 years, growing from $7 billion to $15 billion U.S. a year.

What’s a parent to do? Protect your children by setting limits. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children who are aged two years and older watch no more than couple of hours of quality programming each day. You can make the biggest effect by keeping television sets out of children’s bedrooms and by banning TV during homework and mealtimes. Even though you may receive complaints at first, these limits can definitely help you spend more time networking as a family and can free up time to do other things like play games, read, or just be together.

Another thing you can do is help your children make appropriate choices when they do watch television. Whenever possible, watch programs with children to monitor the content, including commercials. You are far better able than they are to see the hidden messages and motivations of commercial advertisements. When it comes to food advertising, children are easily misled by commercials that promote diet foods and fast foods as nutritious choices. And finally, set a good example by keeping your own TV viewing in check.