Watching less TV doesn't boost physical exercise

by Brian White (Subscribe to Brian White's posts)
Feb 5th 2007 5:27PM

Categories: Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements

Many of us have seen kids 99 ours or others -- spends hours in front of the television watching programs and more recently, playing endless video games. There are some parents that attribute kids getting fatter due to this displacement of television over physical exercise.

But, U.S. researchers said just this morning that getting children to switch off the television does not guarantee they will exercise more.

The conclusions came after a four-year study of more than 10,000 U.S. children aged 10 to 15. The researchers said that they found no correlation between changes in the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities and time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Want the details on the results of the study?

More than 10,000 girls and boys answered annual questionnaires for the study, which found girls spent a mean of nearly 10 hours a week watching television per week and boys nearly 12 hours a week. Girls were physically active for 12 hours a week and boys for 14 hours.

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Comments (1)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jeff 9-25-2008 @ 11:43AM

They key is kids exercise and parent involvement. Kids who participate in regular exercise and limit time in front of the television are much less likely to be overweight than their peers.

This information comes from The American Academy of Pediatrics that recommends children limit TV and video games in favor of more regular exercise.

It is suggested that children and teenagers get at least one hour of exercise every day or at least most days of the week.

Getting your kids away from the TV doesn't guarantee that they'll exercise but knowing that if you leave them in front of the TV, they can spend anywhere from 3-6 hours per day sitting there. Not good.

Are you hurting for exercise ideas? Let me be the first to tell you that you can succeed in this area of parenting. Your kids love you and would gladly follow your lead. Give it a try.

http://www.myfamilyexercise.com