As teen we don’t anticipate the future of our physical fitness, or the repercussions of our nutritional health. We are more worried about how well we are liked both others and what we are going to wear to school the next day. Now, two of America’s favorite addictions have been linked. They both could be affecting you, your children, and your loved ones.
The connection? Too much time spent watching ads for fast food restaurants, snacks and other unhealthy food choices, University of Minnesota researchers say.
“Television watching impacts diet choices adolescents make five years later,” said lead researcher Daheia Barr-Anderson, an assistant professor of kinesiology.
Barr-Anderson also speculates that eating while watching TV makes children more likely to consume the foods they see advertised.
Five years out, high-school students who had watched more than five hours of TV a day and were now young adults ate less fruit, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods. Instead, they ate more snack foods, fried foods, fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages and foods containing trans-fats.
“For those looking to nudge their families in the right direction, implement a rule in your home of no eating while the TV is on. Or if that’s too tough, then insist that only fruits and vegetables and water get consumed while viewing TV,” she said. “You could also require that for every hour of TV viewed, each member of the family needs to engage in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise (source).”
So, how many hours of tv are you watching per day? More importantly, how many hours are the young people in our family watching? In the long run, everyone is affected; make sure you are doing your part to stay healthy.
Adria Ali
(CES, PES, CPT, BS)
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