Bad news kids. Internet TV is bad for you.

Yale University School of Medicine researchers examined 173 studies from the past 28 years regarding the impact of media on our children and found a connection between media exposure and undesirable health.

The report examined the effect of media exposure on seven health issues: childhood obesity, tobacco use, drug use, alcohol use, low academic achievement, sexual behavior, and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Media, which was defined as “television, movies, Internet, electronic/video games, magazines, and music.” The strongest association identified is between media exposure and obesity. Seventy-three studies looked at the possible correlation of screen time, Internet and TV and obesity. 86% of them found “a statistically significant relationship” between the two, according to the report.

Inactivity, unsurprisingly was shown to contribute to gaining weight.

James P. Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media said:- “Media is increasingly pervasive in the lives of children and adolescents, Parents and educators must consider the effects of media when they’re trying to address issues with their child’s health. This report makes it clear that we need a bold new agenda on media and technology use. We hope this report will create a new sense of urgency in that regard.”

The report also found that a link between media exposure and tobacco use in 88% of the 24 studies on the topic. Nineteen out of 24 (84%) studies looking at media content and tobacco use found that viewing tobacco use “had a significant association with an increase in tobacco use.” And in five studies analyzing time spent watching TV, there was a correlation between greater screen time and increased tobacco use.

The report recommends limiting media exposure and encouraging children to “spend more time playing instead of watching — and playing real games instead of virtual ones.”

At the same time, while the benefits of outdoor exercise are not in doubt, the risk of injury is significantly higher in the real world than in the online roleplaying game “World Of Warcraft.”

The report acknowledges that many factors contribute to childhood obesity and also recommends that policymakers limit the advertising of junk food to kids. Yet it fails to contemplate whether limiting junk food consumption might curtail childhood obesity more effectively than limiting media consumption.

So kids stop watching internet TV. And let us adults watch it instead, we dont care if we’re unhealthy.

worldtvpc.com

Related posts:

1. Watch Inspector Gadget Online Courtesy Of New Kids Online TV Site Jaroo.com
2. BBC getting kids hooked on to internet TV
3. BBC iPlayer becomes kid friendly
4. TV network tells kids when they should die!
5. Watching TV shows on internet increasingly popular