Too Much TV/Internet Detrimental To Kids’ Health

Although we always invite our patients and the general public to our website and hope they spend hours reading through our health-related information, we do want to warn parents of the harm too much internet as well as TV usage has on their children. This comes from a recent report consisting of the analysis of 173 studies conducted since 1980 assessing how media sources impact the physical health of children and adolescents. In the report, researchers found three quarters of the assessed studies were associated with negative health outcomes. Findings included that increased media exposure was associated with an increased likelihood of obesity, smoking and early sexual activity as compared with those children who spent less time viewing/interacting with the media. The media included television, movies, music, video games as well as computer and internet usage. As with so many other things, moderation is key. And thus, we wish to remind our patients and website visitors to pay close attention to their children's media habits and their children's physical activity levels.