Turn Off the TV

Turn on to Physical Activity!

By Rae Pica

Imagine having no television for an entire season. Such was the case for a friend, whose mother hauled the appliance right out of the house at the start of every summer. Surprisingly, Ola and her siblings didn't miss it, as they managed to keep themselves busy in other ways. And today, Ola is glad her mother maintained that annual tradition, as she learned not to rely on TV to keep her entertained. She and her two young daughters also tend to be more physically active than other families she knows – something she attributes directly to the amount of active play she engaged in as a child.

Could today's families survive as well without the "tube?" And if forced to go without (say, during TV-Turnoff Week), would they be physically active or simply resort to another form of electronic entertainment?

Unfortunately, children today spend the better part of their waking lives watching television. It's been estimated that between the ages of 2 and 17, American children spend an average of three years of their waking lives watching TV – and that doesn't even include time spent watching videos, playing video games or using the computer. That's the equivalent of more than 15,000 hours in front of the set (about a thousand hours a year) as compared with 12,000 hours spent in a classroom. The end result? A total of 27,000 hours – more than six years of their young lives – without a whole heck of a lot of movement.

Why be concerned? The No. 1 reason is that too much television results in an unfit individual – adult or child. In 1998, researchers at San Diego State University found that both parents' and children's performance levels on a simple test of aerobic fitness (one-mile walk/run) decreased as their viewing increased. The fact is, children who watch several hours of television every day have lower fitness levels than those who watch fewer than two hours.

Worse still, as the hours spent watching TV increase, so does the likelihood of obesity among children and adolescents. Researchers are discovering that the percentage of body fat increases along with the number of hours spent in front of the tube – and that obesity is lower among children who watch television for one hour or less a day. The risk actually increases almost 2 percent for each additional hour watched!

Of course, even children who aren't overweight or obese can still be unfit if they participate in too little vigorous physical activity. Whether it's evident on the outside or not, when the time comes for them to exert physical energy, they'll likely find their muscles, heart and lungs aren't up to the challenge.

Want to see more?

• Talk about it!
• Turn on the Fun Without Turning on the TV
• Taming the TV: Is Your Babysitter a Square?
• Too Much TV? Setting Limits on Television Viewing
• Family Energy Magazine