I keep encountering articles related to kids and weight loss management. I wonder if it is because the topic is raising more and more attention, if I am becoming more sensitive because my daughters are getting older (7 & 12) and getting into that age I call “the fine line between being overweight and having an eating disorder”. Or, if it is because I have finished my book, and my next step is to write and adapt my 32 Mondays Method to tweens and teens.

 

For one reason or another I have been posting a few blogs related to the topic, and today something rang the bell again.

 

I just read an article about the results of a study that said that TV’s in the child’s bedroom was tied to weight gain. On the other hand, active video games that forced the kid to move resulted in weight loss. The article concludes that there is not yet a clear explanation of why there is a weight gain association with a TV in the child’s bedroom, but sounds like it can be linked to more exposure to food advertising and disrupted sleeping patterns.

 

Well, after parents, TV is the main source of food information for our kids. The manufactured food industry has a huge budget for advertising and kids are the perfect target to make the parents buy that food. Also, most kids have learnt from many parents the art of snacking while watching TV.

 

For the sleep disruption, enough and uninterrupted sleep hours are essential to allow the weight management hormones work in our favor. If you adult find difficult to go to sleep when we have our computer or TV on, how do you think it will affect our kids? And have you seen in your own skin how specific TV programs, newspaper articles or computer activities can interfere with a normal sleep? Kids are not different to us, and they are still more vulnerable.

 

Regarding active game play and some weight loss, what we can see is that in a kid, the slight activity increase results in a real weight loss. Just imagine what would happen if the kid, instead of watching TV or playing an “active” videogame is playing soccer, dancing, swimming, running, jumping or just walking. On a daily basis, not only that will most certainly help the kid maintain the right weight (of course and absolutely with a healthy diet) but it will keep the kid happier and much more relaxed and centered.

 

So please parents, less TV, less games and more active movement!

  

Here is the link to the full article if you want to read it:

http://consumer.healthday.com/fitness-information-14/misc-health-news-265/childhood-obesity-technology-offers-pluses-minuses-685426.html?utm_content=bufferad0ab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer#.UxUwZ188SJM.twitter