Forty-two percent of Americans say they eat dinner in front of the TV every day.
- Reader's Digest, September 2006
Less TV = Less Obesity
"TV and Computer Limits Make Kids Slimmer" - WSJ Health Blog (March 2008)
"Reducing television viewing and computer use may have an important role in preventing obesity and in lowering BMI in young children, and these changes may be related more to changes in energy intake than to changes in physical activity. " - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (March 2008)
"Children whose parents used monitoring equipment to halve screen time found they were thinner, a report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows." - Telegraph (Dec 2007)
"Reducing TV Time Helps Adults Burn More Calories, Study Finds" - Science Daily (Dec 2009)
 "Worried about your child’s weight? You can do more than just nag them about eating too much junk food. Implementing three healthy family habits—eating dinner together, making sure they get enough sleep, and limiting TV—may help. The combination of these three habits is associated with a lower risk of obesity in children, according to a new study." - Health.com (Feb 2010)
"A study of the habits of members of the National Weight Control Registry — a group of about 5,000 people who have lost an average of 73 pounds and kept off at least 30 of them for more than six years — found that most watch fewer than 10 hours of TV a week." - USAToday (Oct 2005)
"The results of the study, published in Health Psychology in 1995, showed that the children who were reinforced for being less sedentary-e.g., less television and less computer games-had a bigger weight loss than the children who were reinforced for increasing their physical activity." - Research Quarterly (Summer 2000)
"For kids, reducing TV viewing may be a key to preventing obesity" - Stanford Report (May 1999)
"Less Television, More Gathering Around Dinner Table Prevents Kids From Becoming Overweight" - Science Daily (Feb 2007)
"Our results encourage the design of interventions that reduce television watching as a possible means of increasing adolescent physical activity." - ScienceDirect (Feb 2006)
"Increasing Physical Activity And Limiting Television May Lead To Reduction In Type 2 Diabetes" - Science Daily (Dec 2008)
"Now, a new study finds that public health initiatives can successfully deliver an anti-obesity message that convinces at least some low-income, preschool children to watch less TV." - Personal MD (June 2005)
"Students in one of the two elementary schools received 18 lessons over the course of a six month curriculum to reduce television, videotape and videogame use. The study showed that the students receiving the additional instruction experienced a decrease in their body mass index. Using this information, the researchers were able to conclude that reducing television, videotape and videogame use may be a promising approach to prevent childhood obesity." - Stanford Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television (SMART) curriculum is being used in California and Michigan. SMART in San Francisco, SMART in Canada
"Planet Health Program Reduces Obesity in Middle-School Girls - A school-based program that teaches better dietary habits and reduces television viewing was found to be effective in reducing the prevalence of obesity in middle-school girls, but not boys..." - Harvard School of Public Health (April 1999)
Planet Health & YMCA - Harvard School of Public Health (Spring 2006)
Family-Based Obesity-Prevention Programs - Princeton University and The Brookings Institution
California Obesity Prevention Initiative - Free Pdf Booklet
Finnland successful reduced their obesity rate from 44% to 11% - The Times (April 2004)
Overweight and Obesity - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"Tips to Reduce Screen Time" - U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
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Obesity & Health
"Likening obesity’s risks to those of smoking, a large European study spanning decades has found that young men who were overweight at age 18 were as likely to die by 60 as light smokers, while obese teens, like heavy smokers, were at double the risk of dying early." - The New York Times (March 2009)
"A striking study says one in five 4-year-olds is overweight, lengthening the odds these youngsters will stay obese later in life and encounter a string of health problems." - San Francisco Chronicle (April 2009)
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TV More Sedentary Than Reading, Playing Video Games & Computer Use
"The study found that lack of physical activity is more strongly linked with TV watching than with other types of sedentary activities like computer use, video game playing and reading. It also revealed that children who watch TV for more than six hours a week are much more likely to be physically inactive." - University of Guelph (Dec 2006)
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Eating in Front of the TV
"University students who watched over four hours or more of TV per day snacked more frequently while watching TV, recognized more TV advertisements and consumed more energy-dense snacks than students who viewed less than one hour of TV per day." - Science Daily (Aug 2008)
"School of Public Health Project EAT researchers found that children in families who watched TV while eating meals together had a lower-quality diet than the children of families who ate together, but turned the TV off." - Science Daily (Oct 2007)
"The Power of Family Meals" - Poweroffamilymeals.com
"Watching television disrupts children's' normal response to food -- they will eat more while they're sitting in front of the tube, whether or not they're really hungry." - Reuters (Feb 2007)
"Kids who watch TV at mealtime eat far fewer fruits and vegetables than children who sit down to a quiet dinner" - CNN (Jan 2001)
"A Tufts University study... found that when families didn't separate eating from other activities, particularly watching TV, kids consumed fewer fruits and vegetables and more junk food and soda." - Psychology Today (2001)
"Positive Effects of Family Dinner Are Undone by Television Viewing" - Science Direct (March 2007)
"Less Television, More Gathering Around Dinner Table Prevents Kids From Becoming Overweight" - Science Daily (Jan 2008)
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TV & Diabetes
"Harvard researchers say that too much time in front of the television appears to be tied to a rapid rise in the number of adults with type 2 diabetes." - Health and Age (April 2009)
"Diabetic children who spent the most time glued to the TV had a tougher time controlling their blood sugar, according to a Norwegian study that illustrates yet another downside of too much television." - CBS News (May 2007)
Risk for Type 2 Diabetes... "Children who reported watching TV/playing video games 2 or more hours/day were 73% more likely to be at risk." - Journal of School Health (2006)
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TV & Hypertension & High Blood Pressure
"Another study has linked TV viewing to increased incidence of childhood obesity, but this time the researchers also pinpoint a higher risk of the children developing hypertension." - Food Navigator (Oct 2007) and Science Daily (Oct 2007)
"TV And Computer Screen Time May Be Associated With High Blood Pressure In Young Children " - Science Daily (August 2009)
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TV & Asthma
"Young children who spend more than two hours glued to the TV every day double their subsequent risk of developing asthma, indicates research published ahead of print in Thorax." Science Daily (March 2009)
"A study of more than 3,000 children found those who watched a lot of TV around the age of three were more likely to be diagnosed with the condition by the age of 11." - Scotsman (March 2009) and Science Daily (Feb 2009)
"Childhood rates of chronic health problems, including obesity, asthma and learning disabilities, have doubled in just 12 years, a new study reports — to 1 in 4 children in 2006, up from 1 in 8 in 1994." The New York Times (Feb 2010)
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TV & Death
"The results also showed that those who watched TV for four hours a day or more had a 46 percent increased risk of death from any cause and an 80 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, compared with those who watched TV less than two hours a day. This connection was found to be independent of other risk factors for death and cardiovascular disease, including smoking, high cholesterol, poor diet, high blood pressure and a large waistline. " - Live Science (Jan 2010) and About.com (Jan 2010)
"I’m still alive and I watch as much if not more TV than anyone I know, so clearly this research is just a bunch of scare tactics being promoted by Australian anti-television groups " -PFlag.com (March 2010)
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TV & Obesity
"Children who watch more than two hours of television a day are putting their health at risk, medical experts have warned." - Telegraph (Jan 2009)
The Role of Media is Childhood Obesity - Overview of the Research - Kaiser Family Foundation (Feb 2004) (pdf)
"High-school kids who watch too much TV are likely to have bad eating habits five years in the future. A new study followed almost 2000 high- and middle-school children and found that TV viewing times predict a poor diet in the future." - Science Daily (Feb 2009)
"Less Sleep, More TV Leads To Overweight Infants And Toddlers" - Science Daily (April 2008)
"Adults who watch more than 21 hours of TV a week were 80 per cent more likely to be obese than people who watched five hours or less television." - CTV News (June 2008)
"For every one-hour increase in TV viewing per day, we found higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages including juice (one extra serving per week) and total calories (46.3 more kcal/day)," said Sonia Miller, B.A., lead author of the study and a student at the Harvard Medical School. " - Science Daily (March 2007)
"Kids gain more weight when school's out" - MSNBC (Feb 2007)
"Watching television, eating family meals and the safety of the neighborhood all play a role in children's weight, according to researchers at the University of Missouri." - ScienceDaily (Jan 2007)
"...reducing TV viewing by one hour is associated with 160 fewer calories consumed per day." - Harvard School of Public Health (Dec 2006)
"Statistics Canada found a direct correlation between the amount of time youth spent watching TV and playing video games, and their likelihood of being overweight or obese." - Health Canada (Oct 2006)
"Excess Television May Lead To Extra Weight For Preschoolers" - RxPG News (Aug 2006)
Using pedometers, researchers find that more TV means fewer daily steps - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (July 2006)
"FOR the first time, scientists have put an exact figure on the effect of TV on obesity: watching for just an hour a day can increase a child's dietary intake by 167 calories and add more than 6.35 kilograms to their weight in a year." - The Sidney Morning Herald (April 2006)
"How Does Increased Television Watching 'Weigh Into' Childhood Obesity?" - ScienceDaily (Oct 2005)
"How much TV children watch accurately predicts whether they will go on to become overweight, a study suggests." - BBC (Sept 2005) More on the same study - The Guardian (Sept 2005) Yet more on the same study - Personal MD And yet more on the same study Medical News Today (July 2004)
"Three-year-old children who watch more than eight hours of TV a week are at a higher risk of obesity, a study says." - BBC (May 2005)
"Obesity was independently associated with the time spent playing electronic games and the time spent watching television and was inversely associated with physical activity." - Science Daily (July 2004)
"In a landmark study that compared watching TV to reading, sitting at a desk, and driving, Hu found that TV watching is far more likely to lead to obesity and diabetes than any of the other sedentary behaviors." - Harvard Magazine (2004)
"More TV Time for Teens Means Fewer Fruits, Vegetables. The more hours they watch, the worse their diet, study finds." - Personal MD (Dec 2003)
"The study found a significant association between BMI and hours of television watched and daily soft drink consumption." - Personal MD (Sept 2003)
"Harvard rsearchers found that limiting TV time and adopting a more active lifestyle could go a long way toward preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes." - NBC10.com (April 2003) More on the same study - Prevention.com
"Schools need more mandatory physical education classes and parents need to unplug TVs and video games, say researchers who concluded that most young Americans, particularly blacks and females, are far too sedentary." - PE in the News (June 2000)
"Girls and Minority Kids on the TV Fat Track" - ABCNews.com
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TV Food Advertisements
"Children’s television networks show 76 percent more food commercials per hour than other networks – and most of them are for high-fat, high-sugar foods, according to a new study." - Food Navigator (Nov 2009)
"Unintended consequences? Food ads automatically prime eating in children and adults" - Lucid Thoughts (Oct 2009)
"In a new study published this month in the journal Health Psychology, TV food ads were found to significantly increase eating while viewing, in adults as well as children." - Psychology Today Blog (July 2009)
"A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics. The study also reports that eliminating the tax deductibility associated with television advertising would result in a reduction of childhood obesity, though in smaller numbers." - Science Daily (Nov 2008)
"University students who watched over four hours or more of TV per day snacked more frequently while watching TV, recognized more TV advertisements and consumed more energy-dense snacks than students who viewed less than one hour of TV per day." - Science Daily (Aug 2008)
It's Official: Big Food Targets Kids - Daily Kos (August 2008)
"Nine out of ten food advertisements shown during Saturday morning children's television programming are for foods of poor nutritional quality, according to researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the University of Minnesota." - Science Daily (April 2008)
"Spanish-language television is bombarding children with so many fast-food commercials that it may be fueling the rising obesity epidemic among Latino youth, according to research led by pediatricians from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center." - Science Daily (Feb 2008)
"A siege of fast-food commercials on Spanish-language television channels in the United States may be helping drive an obesity epidemic among Latino youth, researchers reported on Tuesday." - Reuters (Feb 2008)
"A survey by Sonya Grier, a marketing professor at American University's Kogod School of Business, found that greater exposure to fast food advertising was linked to beliefs that eating fast food is a regular practice of family, friends and others in their communities. The more parents perceived fast food consumption as a socially normal behavior, the more frequently their children ate fast food." - Moldova (Jan 2008)
"Anything made by McDonald's tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children." - The Seattle Times (Aug 2007)
"Obese and overweight children increase their food intake by more than 100% after watching food advertisements on television; a study by the University of Liverpool psychologists has shown." - Science Daily (April 2007)
"The average American kid sees between 30 and 50 hours of food commercials on TV every year -- 90 percent of them for junk food, and none for fruits and vegetables -- according to an extensive study of children's and teen's viewing habits released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a Menlo Park nonprofit group." - San Francisco Chronicle (March 2007) - More on this Kaiser Report - Post Gazette
"Study: Commercials For High-Fat Foods Permeate TV For Preschoolers" - CBS News (Oct 2006)
"Food and beverage companies are using television ads to entice children into eating massive amounts of unhealthful food, leading to a sharp increase in childhood obesity and diabetes, a national science advisory panel said yesterday. - WashingtonPost (Dec 2005)
"A study has found that the more television kids watch, the more confused they are about which foods are -- and which aren't -- going to help them grow up strong and healthy." - Science Daily (June 2005)
"Child television viewers are bombarded with health claims in television advertising. Given the plentitude of advertisements on television touting the health benefits of even the most nutritionally bankrupt of foods, child viewers are likely to become confused about which foods are in fact healthy," - Personal MD (June 2005)
"That's the conclusion of a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, titled The Role of the Media in Childhood Obesity. The review of more than 40 studies turned up the not-surprising finding that children who spend the most time with the media are the most likely to be overweight. Media" here refers primary to television, says Vicky Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, but, "advertisers are increasingly seeking other ways to put messages in front of kids." - Personal MD (Feb 2004)
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Reducing Junk-Food Advertising
"A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics." - Science Daily (Nov 2008)
"Tony the Tiger is under attack. So are the Rice Krispies elves, the Nesquik rabbit, and some mysterious entity called the Sugar Puffs Honey Monster (video). Since July of last year, these mascots—and others peddling food high in fat, salt, or sugar—are slowly disappearing from British television. The purge represents the U.K.'s most recent strategy to fight childhood obesity. On January 1, the British government put limits on junk-food advertising during shows aimed at children under the age of 16, and by 2009, they will become stricter. Junk-cereal cartoons will soon become an NC-17 novelty." - Discover (Jan 2008)
"Nestle and Dannon, two of the nation's leading food companies, have declined to join a widespread industry move to limit advertising of unhealthy foods to children." - Food Navigator (Oct 2007)
"Report: TV ads contribute to child obesity. Scientists urge marketers to stop targeting junk food commercials to kids" - MSNBC (Dec 2005)
"Researchers Say Prime Time for Kids Has Heavy Advertising for High-Sugar Foods" - WebMD (Aug 2005)
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What Experts Recommend
"In addition to encouraging physical activity, help children avoid too much sedentary time. Although quiet time for reading and homework is fine, limit the time your children watch television, play video games, or surf the web to no more than 2 hours per day." - Center for Disease Control
"Childhood obesity is a growing concern for pediatricians and caregivers. In response to this problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created guidelines for children regarding physical activity and screen time, which includes both watching television and playing video games..." - Science Daily (April 2008)
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Some Positive Changes
"The report says that short-term outcomes are being achieved; several federal policies have been changed to encourage better nutrition and physical activity in schools, many communities have built sidewalks and bike paths to encourage physical activity, and national awareness of the problem is increasing." - Info Zine (Sept 2006)
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TV and Body Image
"Desperate Housewives and other TV soap operas may help make adolescent girls desperate for a thinness few can healthily achieve, new Australian research suggests." - Life Clinic (June 2005)
"Parents worry about their kids eating junk food while watching television, but seeing a constant barrage of ultra-thin models and actors can also foster eating disorders." - Psychology Today (2001)
"Media's Effect On Girls: Body Image And Gender Identity" - MediaWise (Sept 2002)
"Study Finds TV Alters Fiji Girls' View of Body" The New York Times (May 1999) More on this study Dimensions Magazine (May 1999)
"We found men who were exposed to images of the so-called "ideal" male became more depressed and significantly more dissatisfied with the size and shape of their own muscular build once they were exposed to those commercials." - Ivanhoe.com (May 2005)
"Among other things, the collected data indicates that kids crave connection and that feeling a lack of it has a strong influence on the development of eating disorders." - Psychology Today Blog (July 2009)
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Video Games
"Owens' study, which he has submitted to a refereed professional journal, found that children did display significant increases in aerobic fitness after three months with the Wii Fit. However, three months of home Wii Fit use produced no significant changes in daily physical activity, muscular fitness, flexibility, balance or body composition for families as a whole." - ScienceDaily (Dec 2009)
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