The relationship between hours sitting in front of the television and the increase in obesity is well known. This occurs not only because watching TV limits exercise hours, but also increases food intake while sitting in front of it.
Today, the results of an American study that states that is published in the pediatric journal "Archives of pediatric & Adolescent Medicine" a device that limits the time children spend in front of the TV helps to lose weight. This essay has been carried out for two years in the city of Buffalo and in it, 70 families have participated.
Overweight children between four and seven years old were chosen, whose body mass index exceeded 75 percent the recommended figure for their weight and height, and also spent many hours in front of the TV or playing video games (it was seen that most passed more than 14 hours per week). In the middle of these children's homes, a device was installed that only allowed the television or videogame to be switched on by means of a child's personal access code, and which, after exceeding a maximum number of hours, turned off the screen directly. The rest of the relatives had their own password. The other half of the families only served as a control group.
The device was progressively reducing the hours to 50 percent less than at the beginning of the study. In the end they found that the boys who had the device were decreasing the hours of TV and games to an average of 17.5 hours less, as well as their body mass index and their food intake. Those without restrictions only reduced the time by 5.2 hours.
Apparently these results occurred because by spending less time in front of the screen, children greatly decreased caloric food intake and not because they exercised more. The device also worked without creating conflicts between parents and children according to these researchers. 30 percent of children went from being overweight to not having it.
The authors concluded that installing a television set in the children's bedroom can increase the risk of obesity even more than if the TV is in common areas of the house and also makes it difficult for parents to control.
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