Prescription to fight obesity epidemic: Turn off the TV
The problem is evident. Kids and teenagers are getting fatter. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of all advertising in childrens media is for fast food or snacks. Is it time to ban this advertising from TV?
Yes, says the American Academy of Pediatrics in a new policy statement, Children, Adolescents, Obesity and the Media published in the July 2011 issue of Pediatrics.
Kids and teens are spending more time watching TV. This means that children are also watching ads for junk food and fast food, and eating more unhealthy foods. In 2009, the fast-food industry spent $ 4.2 billion on ads.
This spring, the Federal Trade Commission proposed voluntary guidelines to limit how food manufacturers advertise to children.
The AAP supports the FTCs working group proposal, said Dr. Victor C. Strasburger, M.D., FAAP, lead author of the AAP policy statement and a member of the AAP Council on Communications and Media. But the epidemic of childhood obesity requires stronger action, he said. The gist of our statement, if youre looking at a regulatory solution, is that self-regulation is not going to work. We need to wake up and smell the fast food.
Clearly children and teenagers who spend their time watching TV, consuming large quantities of junk food, instead of exercising and eating healthy food, are at risk for being overweight or obese. It doesnt help that late night TV viewing, or other screen time, also disrupts healthy sleep patterns, which can also contribute to obesity.
Studies that have been on-going show that screen time spent as a child is related to obesity as an adult, said Dr. Strasburger.
Combating the problem requires a partnership among parents, pediatricians and child-health advocates. This is a multi-factorial problem with a multi-factorial solution, said Dr. Strasburger, who urged parents to avoid screen time for babies under two and to limit screen time for older children to less than two hours a day.
Parents also need to keep the TV set, the internet, cell phone and I-pod out of the kids room, said Dr. Strasburger. Parents should be watching media with the child, to talk about the selling intent of the advertisers.
The policy statement also urges pediatricians to ask parents about their child or teenagers media use at check-ups, to discuss healthy nutrition, and to work for a ban on junk food, among other suggestions.
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