Too much media raises risk of health problems for children: study

LOS ANGELES, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Children face increased risk of health problems such as obesity, eating disorders, drug use and early sexual activity if they have easy access to a wide variety of media, a new study has found.

Too much media raises risk of health problems for children: study

On average, American children and teens spend more than six hours a day with media such as TV, computers, Internet, video games and VCR or DVD players -- more time than they spend per day receiving formal classroom instruction, according to the study appearing in the June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a special theme issue on child and adolescent health.

The study was conducted by Dr. Victor C. Strasburger of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

"The media are not the leading cause of any pediatric health problem in the United States, but they do make a substantial contribution to many health problems," Strasburger said.

Such problems include violence, sex, drugs, obesity and eating disorders, he said.

He called on parents to limit children's access to computers, TV and more.

Parents, teachers and clinicians need to be educated about these connections, and student education about media should be mandatory in schools, he recommended.

"Parents have to change the way their children access the media-- not permitting TV sets or Internet connections in the child's bedroom, limiting entertainment screen time to less than two hours per day, and co-viewing with their children and adolescents," Strasburger said in the study.

Research has shown that media effects are magnified significantly when there is a TV set in the child's or adolescent's bedroom, according to the study.