Hello!

134 Comments

The obesity epidemic in Australia is no secret. It is a trend that has continued to rise, with only 1 third (35.2%) of Australian adults now within the ‘health’ weight range. (1) If this is not concerning enough, 1 in 4 (25.3%) children (5 – 17 years) are now also overweight or obese. (2)

When it comes to the issues of excess body weight there is a lot of finger pointing at both nutrition and physical activity levels, however screen time is a huge contributor that often goes ignored.

The links between adult and childhood obesity and screen time have been under investigation by Harvard School of Public Health for over 25 years and the evidence is clear –

Screen time including use of TVs, computers, and gaming devices, contribute to obesity risk. (3)

Numerous studies have shown that for every 2 hours of screen time an adult has a 13 – 23% increased risk of obesity and chronic disease. (4, 5) Conversely, data from The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) has shown that watching 10 hours or less TV per week is a key element in sustainable weight loss. (6)

What is of particular interest is that this risk of obesity increases irrespective of levels of physical activity. (7) That is, even a child or adult who is otherwise physically active is still at an increased risk of obesity if they exceed the recommended limit for ‘screen time.’ (7)

How does screen time increase the risk of obesity?

The hypothesis stands that screen time may increase the risk of obesity by promoting a poor diet that encourages snacking and by increasing the desire for ‘junk’ food through advertising. (8) Screen time can also interfering with sleep patterns, particularly before bedtime, which has an established link to weight gain. (8) Of course, screen time takes away from physical activity, but the effect on weight gain is to a lesser extent than the impact seen on diet. (3, 8)

How much screen time are we having?

In our digitalised world screen time is increasingly dominating our lives for both work and leisure. The latest data reveals that Australian children (9 – 16 years) spend over 3.5 hours engaged in screen time each day, which is far in excess of the recommended 2 hours or less per day for this age group. (9, 10) For children aged 2 – 5 years the recommended limit for screen time is less than 1 hour, while under the age of 2 years it is recommended that children have no screen time at all. (10)

Reduce your screen time

Reducing screen time is of benefit to the health of all family members, however putting the recommended limits into practice can be difficult to balance particularly when study and homework are still a priority. Limiting screen time also isn’t likely to be a welcome change in a household that is in the habit of racking up several hours in front of a screen each day.

Making a slow transition and implementing small changes gradually is realistic approach to reducing your families screen time.

Removing TVs and computers from bedrooms is an essential move which significantly reduce non-essential screen time and allows you to better monitor use.

Setting up a schedule is also a good move, with allocations for computer based homework and study taking priority. Decide on a reasonable allowance for free screen time, but ensure it doesn’t coincide with meals or 1 hour before bed – these times should remain strictly electronic free.  Restricting screen time during daylight hours is also a good strategy, but allowing children to allocate their own free screen time will be important to gain cooperation.

Remove remotes and devices when they are scheduled to be off-limits as this will take away temptation and remind that it is time to be doing other things.

Finding other things to do can be a challenge initially. Taking some time to plan some afterschool and weekend activities will be invaluable in keeping children entertained without a screen. It could be anything; get your children into a new sport, plant a vegetable garden, cook up a storm, go fishing, explore local parks and gardens, or just play together – Besides, not only is it good for you, being active makes you happy!

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • That’s a bit scary with those statistics!

    Reply

  • Only screen time fir my kids wasthe tv. They pretty much watched their favourite shows and went off to play without much drama

    Reply

  • So glad we only had TV screen time to control when my kids were little. And they were more interested in being outside as well. I know of a mum who bought an iPad to keep her 2 yo occupied! She works most days and Nan babysits, so the iPad was to make life easier for them. Seriously?!?! A 2 yo!!! So easy to get them doing stuff outside :/

    Reply

  • It sure is a balancing act in life today. Kids, work, play time. It’s hard to know if you’re doing it right or wrong

    Reply

  • Its very good knowledge to know! Thanks for sharing this article!

    Reply

  • I don’t know, all this data, all these links, all the bad food, bad fat, good fat, screen time, statistics, studies, good cholesterol, bad cholesterol, what to wear, what not to wear, how to decorate our homes, how to sell them, location, location, location..no wonder my head hurts.

    Reply

  • I limit how much screen time is allowed, no exceptions. great article

    Reply

  • I think we are getting too reliant on the screen and all our gadgets. Its not a healthy thing to be doing!

    Reply

  • It’s important to have a good balance of “screen” time with other activities. An hour or two a day is a reasonable amount of screen time for most kids, and it can be hard to enforce it, but you have to stand firm in your decision.

    Reply

  • The kids are only allowed 1hour of screen time per day.

    Reply

  • We sometimes have no screen time day.

    Reply

  • i never knew thy had scientifically proven it causes obesity, thanks

    Reply

  • Wow, didn’t know that there was a connection!

    Reply

  • a very interesting read, I wonder what a lot of people would do without their gadgets

    Reply

  • I think screen time is fine as long as exercise is also given

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join