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Television and child obesity
The more television children watch, the more likely they are to crave the foods shown in the adverts. This is the finding reached by Marie-Laure Frelut, a paediatrician specialising in nutrition who decries the vast amount of advertising given over to foods that are unsuitable for small children.
The figures are breathtaking: in the United States, by the age of 3 months 40% of infants watch television. And by the age of 2 the figure has risen to over 80%! So the TV screen becomes an everyday part of children’s lives at a very early age. And the result of this is a veritable addiction to these images which, even if the children don’t understand them, are still imprinted on their minds.
According to Marie-Laure Frelut, it is highly probable that television has had an influence on dietary behaviour and perception. It also produces sedentary children. In terms of energy expenditure, she continues, watching television is the equivalent of sleeping. So it’s hardly surprising that a child with a television in his bedroom is twice as likely to become overweight.
Numerous studies have demonstrated a clear correlation between the number of food adverts and the prevalence of overweight children. It is essential to work to achieve ethical advertising during programmes aimed at children because children are so extremely vulnerable. Indeed, this is the very core of the problem.
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