Per scongiurare il rischio di situazioni di sovrappeso e obesità nei più giovani è necessario condurre uno stile di vita attivo, riducendo al minimo il tempo speso in attività sedentarie (TV, video giochi, computer). In particolare, numerosi studi hanno identificato nella televisione il maggior responsabile dell’aumento di peso di bambini e adolescenti e, secondo un’indagine pubblicata sull’International Journal of Obesity, la presenza della TV nella cameretta dei bambini aumenterebbe ulteriormente il rischio di “metter su” chili di troppo. Su 2343 bambini di età compresa tra i 9 e i 12 anni il 22,3% era sovrappeso e quasi la metà (il 48,2%) del campione in esame aveva una televisione in camera da letto.
Indipendentemente da altri fattori quali il livello di attività fisica, la situazione sociodemografica, l’utilizzo del computer e il tempo passato davanti al teleschermo, è emerso che nei bambini che avevano la TV in cameretta, l’Incidenza di sovrappeso era superiore rispetto ai coetanei che non avevano l’apparecchio televisivo nella propria stanza (27,3% contro 17,7%).
ABSTRACT
Children with a TV in their bedroom at higher risk for being overweight
Adachi-Mejia AM, Longacre MR, Gibson JJ, Beach ML, Titus-Ernstoff LT, Dalton MA
Int J Obes (Lond). 2007 Apr;31(4):644-51
OBJECTIVE: We examined having a TV in the bedroom as a risk factor for child overweight. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: School and telephone-based surveys in New Hampshire and Vermont between 2002 and 2004. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand three hundred and forty-three children enrolled in public schools, aged 9-12 years, and one of their parents. MAIN EXPOSURES: The child having a TV in the bedroom. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age- and gender-standardized child body mass index (zBMI). Overweight was defined as equal to or above the 95th percentile for zBMI. RESULTS: Overall, 22.3% (N=523) of the children were overweight, and almost half of all children (48.2%, N=1130) had a TV in their bedroom. Children with a TV in their bedroom had a higher zBMI and were significantly more likely to be overweight compared to those without a TV in their bedroom (27.3 versus 17.7%, respectively; P<0.05). After controlling for sociodemographics, physical activity, frequency of TV or movie watching and internet use, children with a TV in their bedroom who watched at least one session of TV or movies per day were more likely to be overweight compared to those without a TV in their bedroom (odds ratio=1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.70). CONCLUSIONS: Having a TV in the bedroom is a risk factor for child overweight, independent of reported physical activity, participation in team sports, TV or movie watching time and internet use at home. Further study is needed to fully understand the mechanism by which having a TV in the bedroom increases children's risk for overweight
