In addition to toys, a good number of commercials during children's television are for food items. Whether it is for breakfast cereals, snack items for fast food, television can have an influence on children's nutritional intake.
According to the FCC's report on Media and Child Obesity:
- 1 of every 3 children are overweight or obese.
- Obesity is the cause of 112,000 deaths in the USA every year.
- A third of all children born in 2000 may develop diabetes in the lifetime.
- The effects of childhood obesity costs $3 billion in medical costs.
Media in the home
Older generations were encouraged to "go out and play" and that the TV was the "idiot box" and it was "bad for your brain". Today, with modern technology combined with other social issues (gangs, street crime, single working parent families, etc.), children are less likely to just "go outside and play". They would rather play inside the house with the many electronic distractions available today.
In a 2007 study conducted by the CDC, families participating in the study were asked about the make-up of media devices in their household. For example:
- 64% of children have a TV in their bedroom.
- Virtually all households had a VCR or DVR.
- 88% had a video game console.
- 85% had a computer (56% of families had internet access).
How much TV do kids watch?
In research that was conducted by RTI International and the Annenberg Public Policy Center in 2004, it was estimated that children watched an average of three hours of television a day. If you include video games and computer usage, the average is about 5 and a half hours per day. Here's a chart that breaks down the average TV and other media viewing by age group:
Many studies do conclude that the more time a child is watching television, the more snacking opportunities they have.
One solution: Watch less TV
In the CDC study, the recommendation that kids should only watch 2 hours of TV per day was presented to children and their parents. While some parents found that limiting media could help a child's development and limit snacking opportunities, other parents were concerned because the television "kept the kids busy" while the parents were doing other chores. Children mainly reacted negatively stating that only two hours of TV a day would make them "insane", especially if the 2 hours also included video game and computer usage.
So, where it comes to children and television, where do we draw the line?
