Al-Huda
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Newsletter for April 2010
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Childhood TV viewing can cause teenage problems
By Andrew Stern
Watching television more than
two hours a day early in life
can lead to attention problems
later in adolescence, according
to a study released on Tuesday.
The roughly 40 percent increase
in attention problems among
heavy TV viewers was observed in
both boys and girls, and was
independent of whether a
diagnosis of attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder
was made prior to adolescence.
The link was established by a
long-term study of the habits
and behaviors of more than 1,000
children born in Dunedin, New
Zealand, between April 1972 and
March 1973.
The children aged 5 to 11
watched an average of 2.05 hours
of weekday television. From age
13 to 15, time spent in front of
the tube rose to an average of
3.1 hours a day.
"Those who watched more than two
hours, and particularly those
who watched more than three
hours, of television per day
during childhood had
above-average symptoms of
attention problems in
adolescence," Carl Landhuis of
the University of Otago in
Dunedin wrote in his report,
published in the journal
Pediatrics.
Young children who watched a lot
of television were more likely
to continue the habit as they
got older, but even if they did
not the damage was done, the
report said.
"This suggests that the effects
of childhood viewing on
attention may be long lasting,"
Landhuis wrote.
Landhuis offered several
possible explanations for the
association.
One was that the rapid scene
changes common to many TV
programs may over stimulate the
developing brain of a young
child, and could make reality
seem boring by comparison.
"Hence, children who watch a lot
of television may become less
tolerant of slower-paced and
more mundane tasks, such as
school work," he wrote.
It was also possible that TV
viewing may supplant other
activities that promote
concentration, such as reading,
games, sports and play, he said.
The lack of participation
inherent in TV watching might
also condition children when it
comes to other activities.
The study was not proof that TV
viewing causes attention
problems, Landhuis said, because
it may be that children prone to
attention problems may be drawn
to watching television.
"However, our results show that
the net effect of television
seems to be adverse," he wrote.
Previous studies have linked the
sedentary habit of TV watching
among children to obesity and
diabetes, and another study in
the same journal cited the poor
nutritional content of the
overwhelming majority of food
products advertised on the
top-rated U.S. children's
television shows. |
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