Researchers have added another risk factor to the long list of factors associated with childhood obesity - bedroom TV viewing.
A team of researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, found bedroom TV viewing contributing to childhood obesity, particularly a high waist circumference.
The findings come at a time when nearly 12.5 million young children and teens are affected by obesity problems in the United States. According to CDC, obese children are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure and cholesterol, prediabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems like stigmatization and poor self-esteem.
According to the background information provided in the study, 70 percent of American children have a television set in their bedrooms and they watch TV for nearly five hours a day.
For the study, researchers looked at 369 children and adolescents aged between five and 18 in Baton Rouge. Factors like gender, ethnicity, age and body mass index (BMI) of the participants were taken into consideration.
Researchers found children with a television set in their bedroom having more TV time and a higher waist circumference, compared to the children who didn't have a TV in their bedroom.
Children who watched TV for more than two hours were found at a 2.5 times higher risk of putting on unnecessary weight.
"There was a stronger association between having a TV in the bedroom versus TV viewing time, with the adiposity and health outcomes," study co-author Amanda Staiano said. "A bedroom TV may create additional disruptions to healthy habits, above and beyond regular TV viewing. For instance, having a bedroom TV is related to lower amounts of sleep and lower prevalence of regular family meals, independent of total TV viewing time. Both short sleep duration and lack of regular family meals have been related to weight gain and obesity."
The study will be published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
