YOUNG children should be banned from watching television as it can damage their mental and physical health to an even greater level than previously thought, according to a shocking new report.

YOUNG children should be banned from watching television as it can damage their mental and physical health to an even greater level than previously thought, according to a shocking new report.

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman has linked television to a number of alarming and significant problems, including short-sightedness and obesity, premature puberty and autism.
He believes very young children should be prevented from watching television and that parents should only introduce it 'judiciously' as they grow up.

The research, which is published today, comes as it emerged that by the age of six, the average child will have spent a year of their life watching television.

 And more than half of all three-year-olds now have a television in their room.

Dr Tony Jewell, Wales' chief medical officer said he would study Dr Sigman's research closely.
Child experts and doctors said television can be a force for good, especially helping to educate children. But they said it should be viewed only in moderation.

Dr Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and a member of the Institute of Biology, said, 'To allow children to continue to watch this much screen media is an abdication of parental responsibility - truly hands-off parenting.'

His report, published in the science journal Biologist, states that cutting youngsters' viewing time must become a health priority and could save the NHS money.

His analysis of 35 scientific studies identified 15 negative effects, including suppressing production of the hormone melatonin, which has important functions in the immune system, sleep cycle and the onset of puberty.

The report also notes these research findings:
Early childhood television viewing may be a trigger for autism;
Permanent eyesight damage has been 'strongly linked' to television watching;
Viewing television may be a bigger factor in causing obesity than diet or exercise;

The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with each extra daily hour of television viewing among people aged 20 to 60;

TV viewing is associated with irregular sleeping patterns among infants and toddlers;
Watching television significantly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.The research also stated that lower melatonin levels could be one of the reasons girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s. Reduced levels of melatonin may also make it more likely that cell DNA will produce cancer-causing mutations, the study noted.

Dr Sigman, who wrote the book Remotely Controlled: How Television Is Damaging Our Lives said, 'Given the population's sheer exposure time to this environmental factor, it is more than puzzling to consider how little awareness and action has resulted. While society has shown alarm over school dinners, it has ignored the high-screen diet children have been consuming.'

Previous research has found that children who watch more than two hours of television a day at weekends are at a significantly higher risk of becoming obese adults.

Dr Wyndham Boobier, a lecturer at the University of Glamorgan, said, 'Children watch far too much television and this affects their physical activity levels.

'Every parent I speak to tells me that their children come home from school and either play on their computers or watch television in their bedrooms.

'There is no doubt that parents need to take a more active role in controlling what their children do in their free time - not just television, but computers as well.'

But Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, said television does have a positive role in helping educate children.

A study by Dr Robin Close, published in Literacy Today in 2004, found that, given the right conditions, children between two and five may experience benefits from good-quality educational television, especially in terms of language development.

Dr Lewis said, 'It is easy to blame television for everything, but like other activities it has to be considered within the terms of moderation - for example, excessive sport for some children can be very damaging.
'Anything that is taken to the extreme can be linked to possible damaging effects.
'It is important that children are exposed to as wide a variety of activities in their early, developing years as possible.'

Dr Jewell added, 'We will be looking at this report very carefully - we want to encourage more children and young people to be physically active.

'The longer they spend in front of the television, the less likely they are to exercise regularly.
'We are also concerned about the impact of television advertising on children and that's why we supported the recent Ofcom publication about reducing advertising during children's television programmes.'

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Children's Commissioner for Wales, said, 'On the basis of the information we have it is difficult to say that problems such as obesity are directly caused by watching a lot of television, since such viewing habits are often - but not always - part of a sedentary lifestyle.
'We know from other research that watching television has positive effects as well - helping children learn about important issues and current affairs, and supporting language development in younger children particularly when they are being raised to be bilingual in a single language home.'

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=-ban-youngsters-from-watching-tv-&method=full&objectid=18642763&siteid=50082-name_page.html

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