Too much TV IS bad for children: The heart attack risk facing young couch potato

Square eyes: Children who watched a large amount of television were found to have narrowed arteries behind the eyes

Lazy: On average, children spent 1.9 hours per day watching TV or playing on their computer

Too much TV IS bad for children: The heart attack risk facing young couch potatoes

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 9:36 AM on 21st April 2011

Children as young as six are risking heart problems in later life because they are allowed to spend too much time watching TV or playing on computers, scientists warn.
A study of 1,492 primary school pupils found that those who spent hours glued to the screen suffered narrowing of blood  vessels in their eyes – an early warning sign of increased  likelihood of heart disease and high blood pressure.
But those who exercised for one hour a day were significantly healthier.


The study was carried out by Dr Bamini Gopinath and a team of researchers at the University of Sydney.
Parents answered a questionnaire detailing the amount of time their children spent watching TV, playing video games, reading and engaging in indoor and outdoor physical activity.
Scientists then took digital photographs of the blood vessels at the back of each child’s eye and calculated their size.
They also measured height, weight, body mass index and  blood pressure.
They found on average, children spent 1.9 hours per day watching TV or playing on their computer and only 36 minutes doing physical activity.
They had an average ‘retinal arteriolar’ narrowing of  2.3 microns.
But those who regularly participated in outdoor physical activity had retinal blood vessels that were 2.2 microns wider.
Dr Gopinath said that ‘replacing one hour a day of screen time with physical activity’ could be enough to stop the effects.

Children under two should not be allowed to watch any TV, experts say.
Older children should watch no more than two hours a day, the researchers at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Centre in Seattle said.
Each hour in front of the TV increased a child's chances of attention deficit disorder by 10%, their research in the Pediatrics journal showed.
The study of 1,345 children showed three hours TV a day made children 30% more likely to have the disorder.
Dr Dimitri Christakis at the children's hospital led the study. He said: "The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It's really being wired."
Children who were exposed to the unrealistic levels of stimulation at a young age continued to expect this in later life, leading to difficulty dealing with the slower pace of school and homework, he said.
"TV can cause the developing mind to experience unnatural levels of stimulation," he said.
Rapid
This was made worse by the rapid image change that television makers used to keep young children interested, Dr Christakis added.
Parents were questioned about their children's viewing habits and asked to rate their behaviour at age seven on a scale similar to that used to diagnose attention deficit disorders.
The youngsters who watched the most television were more likely to rank within the top 10% for concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness and being easily confused.
Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington in Seattle, another of the authors, said it was impossible to say what a "safe" level of TV viewing would be for children between the ages of one and three.

"Each hour has an additional risk. You might say there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk with each hour," he said.
"Things are a trade-off. Some parents might want to take that risk. We didn't find a safe level in that sense."
Between three and five per cent of children in the US are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.
The researchers admitted there could be problems in the study as the parents' views may not be totally accurate.