Toddler TV Habits Tied to Attention Deficit

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Toddler TV Habits Tied to Attention Deficit

 

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Health - Reuters

 

ler TV Habits Tied to Attention Deficit

Mon Apr 5, 4:24 PM ETAdd Health - Reuters to My

 

 

By Michael Conlon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The more television children watch between

the ages of 1

and 3, the greater their risk of having attention problems at

age 7, U.S.

researchers reported on Monday.

 

They found that each hour of television that preschoolers

watched per day

increased the risk of attention problems such as attention

deficit-hyperactivity disorder, by almost 10 percent later on.

The study, published in the April issue of Pediatrics, the

journal of the

American Academy of Pediatrics, adds inattention to the list of

harmful

effects of excessive television viewing that also includes

obesity and

violent behavior.

Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington in Seattle,

one of the

authors, said it was impossible to say what a " safe " level of

TV viewing

would be for children between the ages of 1 and 3.

" Each hour has an additional risk, " he said in an interview.

" You might say

there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk "

with each

hour.

" Things are a trade-off. Some parents might want to take that

risk. We didn

t find a safe level in that sense. "

The data from 2,500 children covered by the study found that

they watched an

average of 2.2 hours per day at age 1 and 3.6 hours per day at

age 3. But

some watched 12 hours or more.

The ages are significant because brain development continues

through those

years, the study said.

" This study suggests that there is a significant and important

association

between early exposure to television and subsequent attentional

problems, "

said Dimitri Christakis, a physician at Children's Hospital and

Regional

Medical Center in Seattle who headed the study.

" We know from national estimates that children watch an average

of two to

three hours of television a day in the 1- to 3-year-old age

group, and that

as many as 30 percent of all children have a television in

their bedroom, "

he said.

" There is a tremendous and growing reliance on television for a

variety of

reasons. However parents should be advised to limit their young

child's

television viewing, " Christakis said.

In the United States between 3 percent and 5 percent of

children are

diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, which is marked by

reduced

ability to concentrate, difficulty in organizing and impulsive

behavior. The

symptoms do not typically show up until children are older,

around age 7.

STUDY LIMITED

The authors said the study had some limitations.

The television viewing data came from the parents and may not

be completely

accurate. Also, there is no way to know whether the children

already had

attention problems early on that attracted them to TV viewing,

though

symptoms don't appear that early, it said.

It was also possible the parents who allowed excessive TV

viewing were

themselves distracted and neglectful, creating a household that

fostered

attention problems in the children. Attention

deficit-hyperactivity disorder

has a high heritability level, the study said.

And the study did not look at what kinds of programs the

children watched.

 

" Despite these limitations our results have some important

implications if

replicated in future studies, " it said. " First we (have) added

inattention

to the previously studied deleterious consequences of excessive

television

viewing ... (and) our findings suggested that preventive action

can be taken

"

 

 

 

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