Study: Preschool Kids With TV in Bedroom at Increased Risk of Being Overweight

Preschool children who have a television in their bedroom are at increased risk of becoming overweight, according to researchers at Columbia University and Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, New York.

Television/video viewing is linked with obesity in school-aged children, adolescents and adults, but this association had not been studied in preschool children.

Researchers studied 2,761 white, black and Hispanic low-income families with preschool children (ages one through five) and found that the prevalence of overweight children was significantly related to the number of hours per day spent watching TV or videos.

Also, children with televisions in their bedrooms watched 4.8 more hours of television or videos per week than children who did not have a set in their room, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

Average television/video viewing times were higher among black and Hispanic children than white children and increased with the child's age.

"Because most children watch television by age two, educational efforts about limiting child TV/video viewing and keeping the TV out of the child's bedroom need to begin before then," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Pediatrics