Linking obesity and activity level with children’s television
and video game use
Elizabeth A. Vandewater, Mi-suk Shim, Allison G. Caplovitz
Is a child’s weight status related to the types of activities that he/she participates in? I would say absolutely, however this study proves that that is not always the case. It would be very easy to conclude that overweight children are those who spend their time playing video games and watching TV, but that has not been prove to be true in all cases.
I found some of the results of this study to be very interesting, especially the fact that television viewing is not proven to have a direct correlation to children’s weight, and even though there was more evidence of a connection between weight and video game use, there was no absolute connection. One of the reasons stated was that overweight girls may turn to activities such as video games because they are socially isolated from their peers. That makes perfect sense. Boys are less likely to ostracize each other from their social groups, but girls will definitely make each other feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, especially if their appearance is not considered desirable by the group.
The study concluded that in order for television watching and video game playing to have an impact on a child’s weight, the child would have to replace a physical activity with the more sedentary activity. For example, many children who play video games are athletes, and they play games related to the sports that they like to participate in. If they spend a few hours participating in their sport after school then come home and play a related video game for an hour, they are still physically active children. It is only when playing the real game is replaced by only playing the video game that weight issues may occur.
Children love playing video games, but like everything in life, moderation is extremely important. If parents do not allow their children to become couch potatoes and encourage them to live active lives, there is nothing wrong with them playing video games. However, if a child will not do anything but play their video games, there is a problem, but not one that a parent can’t solve.
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I totally agree in the motto, "Everything in moderation". And you make a key point about the parents playing a role in their child's activity level. I think it is the parents' job to monitor the amount of time their child spends playing video games. A kid might not understand when enough is enough.
ReplyDeleteThat study does kind of turn the common wisdom of video games causing obesity on its head, doesn't it -- and yet it makes sense. Kids tend to choose activities that fit their lifestyle and some kids tend to be more active than others. One thing I wonder is if it is possible to change a child who is sedentary to being more active -- I know it's hard to do as an adult. : )
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