Turning off TV 'not enough to fight obesity'
11 October 2006
By COLIN MARSHALL
You can make kids turn off the television but you can't make them exercise, the Paediatric Society told a Parliamentary select committee inquiry into obesity today.
American academic Leonard Epstein, who had visited New Zealand, had studied the effect of television watching on obesity, society spokesman Professor Barry Taylor told MPs.
"The theory being that if you decrease TV watching you'll actually increase activity levels and therefore decrease obesity rates in the long term," Prof Taylor said.
"It turned out. . .there wasn't actually any effect on activity level in those people who did not live next to a park – activity levels increased when they lived next to a park, but didn't if they didn't have the opportunity."
He said that showed any interventions were heavily dependent on external factors.
Prof Taylor said the society believed a co-ordinated process was needed so that obesity initiatives undertaken were actually ones that were proved to work.
"At the moment it's a total mess in terms of intervention services across New Zealand, certainly we don't know what each other's doing," he said
"There are many things that in fact people think make sense but actually don't have that much effect."
Prof Taylor said there was evidence that the actual major obesity contributor from television watching was the associated eating.
"We need to protect our children from the effects of advertising energy dense foods at peak children's time."
Hawke's Bay cardiologist Miles Williams also presented to the inquiry today, by telephone.
He believed physical inactivity alone was not the cause of obesity – poor food choices played a major part and were being reinforced in inappropriate places, notably at children's sport.
As a father of four, he was unimpressed at the mixed message of offering unhealthy foods to children soon after they finished their games.
"Food rewards for player of the day in the form of vouchers from McDonald's are common. This does nothing for the child's happiness or health."
McDonald's appeared before the select committee last month and said it was an industry leader in offering healthy choices and that there was little evidence to show that greater regulation of the sector would work.
In response to the suggestion of banning fast-food advertising during young children's TV times, McDonald's marketing manager Ian Sutcliffe said banning advertising to children might jeopardise the company's annual $1.2 million sponsorship of children's sports.
The Government last month announced a four-year $67 million campaign aimed at lifting physical activity and slashing New Zealand's growing obesity rates.
Turning off TV 'not enough to fight obesity' 
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