TV time as prize can get children off couch
study: It may seem counterproductive, but it works, CHEO doctor says
Patrick Dare
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Television time could be part of the problem of childhood obesity, but it can also be part of the solution, says an expert at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Dr. Gary Goldfield and a team of researchers at the CHEO Research Institute have done a study of overweight children that showed television time that is earned through recorded exercise can improve the children's health.
The researchers recruited 30 families with an overweight child between age eight and 12 for the study. Half were in a control group, where television and health were monitored, but TV, VCR and DVD time was not restricted. The other half saw television time dispensed, based on how much exercise the child did.
The children who had to earn their TV time wore a pedometer for about seven hours a day, outside of school, and could do any kind of exercise they liked. The electronic device would be read at CHEO, then the researchers would give them tokens for viewing. Their TVs were hooked up with an electronic device that allowed the TV to operate for 30 minutes when a token was inserted. To watch an hour of television, the child had to do an hour of exercise, such as walking.
The children who had to use tokens watched about 45 minutes of TV a day, and saw a two-hour reduction in viewing time. Those children also experienced a 50-per-cent reduction in snacks eaten. Researchers say TV watching often leads to consumption of snacks.
At the end of the eight-week trial, the children who had to earn their TV time were at the same weight, but in better physical condition, with less fat on their bodies. The children who had unlimited television time had gained weight.
It may seem counterproductive to use TV time as a bait to get children more active, but Dr. Goldfield, a psychologist who has studied childhood obesity for 15 years, says it works and TV time is "a potent reward" to make children more active.
"Parents don't realize that they use this technique all the time. A simple example would be, 'you can't go outside until you clean your room.'
"The key to any behaviour modification technique is consistency," said Dr. Goldfield. "It's very important to follow through with the reward."
There is a growing assortment of electronic devices that measure exercise and control computer or television use. Parents may choose not to bother with the electronic devices, but that means they must supervise the activity and rewards, said Dr. Goldfield.
The research into childhood obesity, and what can be done about it, is being propelled by a worsening picture of childhood inactivity and increased weight problems. Dr. Goldfield says more than 50 per cent of youth are not physically active enough to get a health benefit from exercise. Childhood obesity has tripled in the last 20 years and one in two adults is overweight.
"We're not doing well at all. This is serious," said Dr. Goldfield.
He says a combination of factors have led to this. Twenty-five years ago, three-quarters of students walked or biked to school. Today, it's 25 per cent, with the rest bused or driven. Video games, DVDs, Internet chat rooms and more television are fuelling the tendency of young people to sit around.
Parents often don't recognize that their children are overweight and they tend to over-estimate the amount of exercise they are getting. Children should be getting between 60 and 90 minutes of exercise a day. In this study, the children were getting about 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a day.
Dr. Goldfield says there is no magic bullet for healthier, more active children, but he says one key is for the whole family to take part in the lifestyle change. Taking part in family walks and throwing away the remote control are two examples of small steps that will increase physical activity.
In his own family, with children aged six and four, Dr. Goldfield says a rule against TV in the morning, and planning viewing through the week, limit the amount of television watched.
Eating more fruits and vegetables is important, but Dr. Goldfield says that can be difficult when junk food is sometimes cheaper than healthy produce. He says the government should consider taxing junk food and subsidizing fruits and vegetables.
One of the keys to getting young people to incorporate fitness into their lives is getting them active with things they really enjoy.
To that end, researchers at CHEO are experimenting with incorporating electronic technology into exercise.
For instance, a child being able to "race" on an exercise bike against virtual competitors combines the excitement and fun of a computer game with the health benefits of an exercise machine.
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