Watching television makes children less intelligent and more likely to put on weight, scientists claim.
A study into the affects of television on two-year-olds found the more they watched the more likely they were to eat junk food, perform badly in mathematics and be bullied by peers as they grew up.
Parents of 1,314 children born in the Canadian state of Quebec in 1997 and 1998 were asked to report how much television their offspring watched aged two and a half and aged four and a half.
Schoolteachers then assessed their academic, psycho-social and health habits when they reached the age of ten.
The research found that for every extra hour of TV watched a week two-year-olds suffered a six per cent decrease in performance in maths, a seven per cent decrease in classroom engagement and a ten per cent increase in ‘victimisation’ by peers.
Every extra hour watching TV also corresponded with 9 per cent less exercise, consumption of 10 per cent more snacks, and a 5 per cent rise in body mass index.
The study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found two-year-olds watched 8.8 hours a week and four-year-olds watched 14.8 hours a week, on average.
(HealthDay News) |
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