|
|
|
Child Health Tips>
What Happens When Children Watch Too Much TV
TV has become an integral part of society, but what does it
do to the
health of our children? The latest studies link conditions
such as childhood
obesity and ADD with watching TV. Watching TV is a
sedentary activity.
Commercials advertise health-damaging junk foods that are
geared
towards children. Watching TV does discourage interaction
with others,
and goes much too fast for the child’s developing brain.
When children spend time on the computer, watching TV and
playing video
games, they tend to eat more. Usually the food they
consume is junk
food. The leading beverage consumed is soda pop. This lack
of exercise
combined with consuming extra empty calories can lead to
childhood
obesity.
Soda pop is worse for the body than many junk foods. The
child will focus
in on the TV show or the computer game. They will lose
track of how many
cans of pop they drank. Each can of pop contains up to 12
teaspoons of
sugar, zero nutrition, phosphoric acid, artificial flavors
and artificial colours.
Some contain Aspartame.
Sugar weakens the immune system and leads to Diabetes,
heart problems,
tooth decay and more. Excess sugar also contributes to
weight gain. Zero
nutrition leaves bodies crying for more nutrition, which
will increase hunger
and junk food cravings. Pop also takes vitamins and
minerals from the
body to process the sugar.
Phosphoric Acid causes bones to weaken, which means the
bones will be
more likely to fracture when children exercise. This
effect is magnified if
the pop contains caffeine.
Aspartame is known to kill brain cells and can set off
seizures. Aspartame
is also sweet, which increases cravings for more sweets.
This is how the
pop affects children’s bodies, and does not begin to take
into account other
junk foods.
These are a few causes for ADD:
• Genetics;
• Lack of Omega 3;
• Diet
• Watching TV.
Watching TV overloads children’s brains with
information in a short period of time, causing
developing brains to be over stimulated. This can cause
permanent damage in the baby’s developing neural pathways.
When the child starts school, they often have trouble
paying attention. For every hour a day of TV watched
between the ages of one and three, the risk of ADD goes up
by 10%.
“Studies show that ADD has increased with the
introduction of children’s television in the 1950’s, then
spiked higher in the mid 1980’s when VCR’s and home video
became commonplace.” (It’s Official: TV Linked to
Attention Deficit, Jean Lotus). Scientists have long since
guessed that there was a cause for ADD other than genetics,
as it has spread through every social class.
Children should watch a maximum 2 hours a day of TV,
computer or video
games. Between the ages of one and three, less than two
hours would be
better. Children tend to watch more when the TV is in
their bedroom, so
take the TV out!
Children’s health is greatly at risk; it’s time to limit
the amount of TV,
computer and Video games they watch and to also view the
content.
Monitor how long children watch TV or play on the computer
by showing
them on a clock. It gives them empowerment. It doesn’t
always work, as
children are easily distracted, but at least parents are
making children
aware of time limits. Explain to children what a TV does
to them; make
them aware of consequences, but still keep an eye on the
time they spend
on their video games, computer and their TV.
ama1153@yahoo.ca
www.healthbrights.com
|
|
