The latest studies indicate that watching TV is even worse for your kids than you already thought it was. Kids who spend a lot of time in front of the tube tend to be much more likely to suffer from high blood pressure. And this stat holds even among those kids who are not overweight.
It could be that TV watching is often combined with the consumption of the junkiest of foods. Experts also warn that watching TV right before bed can stimulate kids and cause a worse night’s sleep. On the other hand, researchers also suggest the opposite; that TV watching can mellow you out so much that your body is in a rest state that’s even deeper than sleep itself.
Previous studies have found that watching television lulls people, especially young children, into a low-energy state that is akin to sleeping — that’s about as sedentary as a person can get. “Some studies suggest that the metabolic rate can fall even below that of sleeping…”
Of course, for many parents, achieving that low-energy state is the point of letting their kids watch some TV. It’s not necessarily between playing outside and watching TV, it’s between letting your kid watch TV or nailing him a few times with a tranquilizer gun.
Personally, I don’t buy any TV study that doesn’t break down the study down by content. All TV is not the same. And all TV is not watched in the same way.
