More time in television can harm kids health

The effects of too much television

Too much TV viewing in childhood could lead to poor health during the adult years. a new study shows. Researchers in New Zealand tracked for 26 years the TV viewing habits of 1000 children born in the country during the early 1970's. Results published in The Lancet medical journal showed that television viewing from the ages of five to 15 years old increased the risk of these in adulthood:

*High cholesterol

*Smoking

*poor fitness

*obesity

The study authors further noted that about 17 percent of overweight cases, 15 percent of the poor fitness results, 15 percent of the elevated cholesterol findings and 17 percent of current smoking cases among these 26-year-old could be traced to watching more than two hours of television per day during childhood and adolescence.

Lead author Robert Hancox, MD., and colleagues from the University of Otago in New Zealand suggested that parents should confine children's viewing hours to one to two per day, preferably even less if possible.

Parents should see to it that their kids are in less time viewing on TV and its better to put a guidelines or schedule for them in TV.