TOO MUCH TV?

Avi's Soapbox: Growing up, I remember that there was originally only a few channels which you could watch on the television. For many years, we were all satisfied with the little 'veg time' that we had in front with these few channels and we were happy with the simple entertainment that was provided by these few channels. Then came basic Cable with another 25 or so channels. Yes...more television, more movies and even less time for us to spend with family or other important matters in our life. After all, with 25+ channels to watch there was a lot of 'coach potato time' which needed to be caught up on. But hold on!!! It's 2007. 25+ channels isn't going to cut it anymore. We need more...MUCH MORE! MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE. I'm talking about 1000+ channels. I'm talking about Tivo and the ability to record shows and skip commercials and watch them when we want and how we want...Life is great. More TV to watch. Less time with family and responsibilities. It's a mechaya...what more could a TV junkie ask for!!! Forget the fact that I have bags under my eyes from staying up all night to watch or that my eyes are turning red from the lights and colors of the screen. Certainly, with so much "educational material" available to me at all hours of the day on TV, it certainly can't be bad for me or my children. right??? Think again. Here is new research - hot off the press.

Childhood TV viewing can cause teenage problems

By Andrew Stern Tue Sep 4, 11:50 AM ETCHICAGO (Reuters) –

Watching television more than two hours a day early in life can lead to attention problems later in adolescence, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The roughly 40 percent increase in attention problems among heavy TV viewers was observed in both boys and girls, and was independent of whether a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was made prior to adolescence.

The link was established by a long-term study of the habits and behaviors of more than 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973.

The children aged 5 to 11 watched an average of 2.05 hours of weekday television. From age 13 to 15, time spent in front of the tube rose to an average of 3.1 hours a day."

Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence," Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.

Young children who watched a lot of television were more likely to continue the habit as they got older, but even if they did not the damage was done, the report said.

"This suggests that the effects of childhood viewing on attention may be long lasting," Landhuis wrote.

Landhuis offered several possible explanations for the association.

One was that the rapid scene changes common to many TV programs may over stimulate the developing brain of a young child, and could make reality seem boring by comparison."

Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work," he wrote.It was also possible that TV viewing may supplant other activities that promote concentration, such as reading, games, sports and play, he said.

The lack of participation inherent in TV watching might also condition children when it comes to other activities.The study was not proof that TV viewing causes attention problems, Landhuis said, because it may be that children prone to attention problems may be drawn to watching television."

However, our results show that the net effect of television seems to be adverse," he wrote.

Previous studies have linked the sedentary habit of TV watching among children to obesity and diabetes, and another study in the same journal cited the poor nutritional content of the overwhelming majority of food products advertised on the top-rated U.S. children's television shows.

Up to 98 percent of the TV ads promoting food products that were directed at children aged 2 through 11 "were high in either fat, sugar, or sodium," wrote Lisa Powell of the University of Illinois in Chicago.