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Hancox et al (2004) published in the Lancet
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25 October 2005
R. J. Hancox et al (2004) The Lancet 364:257-262
'Association between child and adolescent
television viewing and adult health: a longitudinal birth cohort
study,'
Television viewing in
childhood and adolescence is associated with overweight, poor
fitness, smoking, and raised cholesterol in adulthood, according
to researchers from the
University of Otago, New Zealand. The
research, published in
The Lancet, suggests that excessive
viewing might have long-lasting adverse effects on health.
The researchers tracked 980 individuals born
in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972-73 at regular intervals up to
age 26. |
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Average weeknight viewing between ages 5 and 15
years was positively associated with higher BMIs, lower
cardio-respiratory fitness, increased cigarette smoking, and raised
serum cholesterol, but not blood pressure at the age of 26.
The associations remained statistically
significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors such
as childhood socioeconomic status, BMI at age 5 years, parental
body-mass index, parental smoking, and physical activity at age 15
years.
The authors conclude that 17% of overweight, 15%
of raised serum cholesterol, 17% of smoking, and 15% of poor fitness
of subjects at 26 years of age can be attributed to watching
television for more than 2 h a day during childhood and adolescence.
The authors therefore recommend that limiting children's TV viewing
to 1-2 hours per day should become a population health priority,'
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