Studies suggest reducing screen time does little to help kids lose weight

[pstokely]

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/apr/20/small-potatoes/?lifestyle

"These activities, collectively called "screen time," are widely blamed for the tripling of obesity rates in children since the 1980s. Zoning out in front of a television or video game monitor for hours doesn't seem healthy, but no one yet has found any causal link between time spent lolling on a couch and childhood obesity.

In February, for example, researchers in Texas reported their findings on whether it would help kids lose weight to have their regular video games replaced with a more-active alternative, such as the Nintendo Wii console. In their study, 84 children received Wii consoles, and half of those got a collection of exercise-oriented games such as Wii Sports and EA Active, which ask players to move their arms and legs or jump around to control the action. The other half of the kids got "inactive" games such as Madden NFL, which can be played from a seated position with minimal full-body movements.

The results of the comparison were disappointing. After three months, "there was no evidence that children receiving the active video games were more active in general or at any time," the authors wrote. The year before, a similar study in New Zealand had shown only minor improvement with active games; kids weighed just a pound less after six months of "exergaming."

Such studies are complicated by the fact that even regular video games — the ones so often blamed for the present rates of childhood obesity — might not be as passive as you think."

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Thats comparing Granny Smiths to

a Delicious ,they're still video games . And as far as what I think about the passive part ,look how white a kids knuckles are when his brain is saving or destroying the world .

[Codeine]

2. It's the shit they're shoveling into their mouths with both hands.

Take away the chips and soda and give them water and fruits and veggies to snack on. My step-daughter's incipient pudge disappeared in weeks after she moved in with me and the cola and candy supply got cut off.

[Ezlivin]

3. Solution: Video games powered by treadmills

As long as the kid keeps moving, power is generated and he/she can play.

For games like WoW kids could easily drop 5 pounds during one game.

[Jennicut]

4. My 6 and 7 year old daughters have a Wii too.

But it cannot compare to actually going outside and playing. Going to a park, taking a walk, using their scooters and bikes, playing basketball, etc. involves a lot more action then moving a Wii controller up and down to pretend to play tennis on Wii Sports. When I was a kid, my brother and I played outside for hours. I make sure to try and get my girls to do the same. For us, the Wii is used pretty much in the winter when it is too snowy to much outside.

[mzteris]

6. Yup - being outside has other benefits

One of the problems people don't realize is that Vitamin D plays a very large role in the human body. We get Vitamin D from being outside. Kids who sit indoors all the time, just aren't getting enough. No matter how much milk they drink!

The darker your skin, the more likely you are vitamin D deficient. The further north you live, too.

[Yo_Mama]

5. If the screen time is replaced with traditional childhood activities, it will

Part of the problem is also bad eating habits - the stuff my friends and I were raised on when we were little was very different from what a lot of kids eat today.

But the world was mostly considered safer, and kids were outside a lot more, running, biking, walking, playing games, etc. A lot of kids aren't allowed to live the way we were then out of safety concerns.