Spending too much of time with TV makes child overweight

According to a new study, the more time a three year old child spends in front of a TV, the more calories he consumes. Spending too much time in front of TV is associated with Junk food and lesser intake of healthy food such as fruits, vegetables, fibers and calcium.

Every hour spent in front of the TV makes children drink more sugar-sweetened beverages, and brings almost forty-seven extra calories per day, said Sonia Miller, lead author of the study. Although forty-six extra calories per day may seem unimportant, in time this can make a difference, according to Matthew Gillman, co--author of the study. The study proved that poor dietary habits are strongly related to increased TV or video watching.

Most of the children watched TV or video for almost two hours per day. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children under two years old do not watch TV or video, while the two-years or older watch TV for no more than two hours per day.