Excessive screen-time use has been linked to elevated blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and being overweight or obese among kids, the report notes. Screen-time behavior established in adolescence has been shown to continue into adulthood, it adds.

As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics says children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than one or two hours per day, and the media content should be of “high quality.” The AAP says that children under age 2 should get no screen time.  USA TODAY, July 8, 2014  “About 1 in 4 young teens meet screen-time guidelines”

We have all heard about it for years now – in the newspapers on television and from doctors — obesity is a major health problem in the United States, and it is a serious problem amongst children and adolescents! So should it be news to us that children sitting in front of the television or a computer all day is a problem?  Of course not, but it is.

Research conducted at Harvard University more than 25 years ago first linked TV watching to obesity. Many groups hence recommended that children and teens limit TV/media time to no more than two hours per day.  Now, new government statistics are showing that only 27% of kids ages 12-15 meet the recommended limit of two hours or less of TV/media time daily.   More startling was that 7% of kids in the study reported watching five hours or more a day of TV, while 5% said they used a computer for five hours or more, according to the 2012 data analyzed by the National Center for Health Statistics. At the other end of the spectrum, just less than 2% reported no daily TV viewing, and 9% reported no computer use.

 In 2012, the CDC released the following statistics about obesity in children:

• Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.
• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.
• In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.
• Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.3 Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.
• Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

So how do we change this? First, you need to understand the causes. Obesity seems to run in families. Family dysfunction, poverty and socioeconomic status are also linked to a greater likelihood of becoming obese. Teens resort to overeating to quell feelings of anger, irritability, rage and other forms of distress. They also gain weight from too much television & media time. This habit renders them sedentary, and also encourages them to eat. This form of “sit time” does contribute to obesity.

What to Do If Your Teen is Obese

• Educating your teenager about healthy eating is important, especially about portion size, calorie intake, and healthy food choices. It is also important to teach them to be active and to do some form of exercise daily – even walking for 30 minutes a day six days a week will make a difference. Encourage them to become involved in sports at school. There are many opportunities in school today for a young person to stay active.
• Parents should provide good examples of healthy eating; a parent who overeats is more likely to have a teen who overeats. Showing by example is more powerful than lecturing, particularly if parents themselves are not abiding by the rules they want their teens to follow. Families should be sensitive to the role they may be playing in inducing the teen to resort to overeating. Counseling can help families address these concerns and help them make changes for the better.
• Avoid harsh criticism or putting down your teen for overeating. Understand that there are almost always emotional problems underlying the teen’s urge to overeat. Open up the channels of communication to encourage your teen to talk about his/her anxiety.
• Consulting a good nutritionist or source of information on healthy nutrition and then working out a healthy eating plan with your teen is also important. Let your teen decide on food choices, and make an effort to find healthy foods the teen likes.
• Make it clear to your teen that many body types are acceptable and attractive. The aim in helping teens who overeat is to get them to eat more healthy foods for a better overall quality of life. It is not to turn them into magazine models, but rather to make them happy in their own skin.
• Limit your child’s time on the computer and the television. They will thank you for it someday!
• If obesity is severe, or you are seeing your teen making an effort to eat better and exercise, but getting very little results, then it is advisable that you schedule a diagnostic consultation with your teen’s doctor.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this blog is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical or psychiatric advice for individual conditions or treatment and does not substitute for a medical or psychiatric examination. A psychiatrist must make a determination about any treatment or prescription. Dr. Paul does not assume any responsibility or risk for the use of any information contained within this blog.