Letting your kids watch too much TV could affect their health as an adult.
According to the CDC, 1 in 5 children in the U.S are obese, largely as a result of poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. Meanwhile, children aged 8 to 18 are watching 4.5 hours of TV every single day, on average.
Now, new research suggests that excessive screen time during childhood can have long-term impacts on a person's metabolic and cardiovascular health.
The study was published in the journal Pediatrics on July 24.
Since the 1970s, researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand have followed the health and TV habits of roughly 1,000 people. The cohort, now in their 40s and 50s, were newborns at the start of the study and were consistently monitored throughout their childhood and teenage years to record their television habits.
At the age of 45, the remaining 997 participants were tested for health markers indicative of poor metabolic health. These include poor blood sugar regulation, high waist circumference, high blood pressure, and high levels of "bad" cholesterol and fats. Displaying three or more of these risk factors is indicative of a condition called metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that together increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Over the course of the study, high levels of TV consumption as a child appeared to be associated with risk of metabolic syndrome in mid-adult life, particularly higher body weight, blood pressure and lower cardiorespiratory fitness.
Interestingly, the association between childhood TV watching and metabolic syndrome in adulthood was present even when the individuals had cut back on their TV viewing time as adults, suggesting that there is a sensitive period during our childhood and adolescence that had more influence over our health as adults than adult behaviors.
There may be several reasons for this association. Firstly, spending more time in front of the TV tends to be associated with lower levels of physical activity and a more sedentary lifestyle. Screen time may also encourage children to eat more high calorie snack foods, especially during their teenage years when parents have less control over their diet.
Further studies will be required to confirm whether childhood screen time actually causes metabolic syndrome in later life or whether there is simply a correlation.
In our modern society, it is difficult to stop children from having screen time altogether (and for many parents, it serves as a much-needed break.) It is also difficult to apply a one-size-fits all model to how much screen time is "safe" for a child.
The American Academy of Pediatrics used to recommend less than two hours of screen time for children ages 5 and up, but have since adapted their guidelines to encourage healthy and productive use of screen time for educational purposes and regular physical activity in between sessions.
