A potential positive contribution to
childhood is related to their health and fitness. I would very much like to
study the effects of technology on the health and fitness of children these
days. Unfortunately, my belief is that children are leading more sedentary
lives these days partly due to technology and their attraction to television,
playstations, X-boxes, ipads and so on. One could measure the fitness level of
children at a particular age, by using professional athletic trainers to assess
them through exercise routines and heart rate measures. Children that spend
less than an hour a day on a screen versus those who spent more than one hour a
day on screens. The same comparison will take place for the difference between
2 hours of screen time and then 3 hours of screen time. The fitness assessment
is the tricky part in this study, as well as keeping all factors similar for
the group studied. For example, a child who spends 3 hours a day on a screen
but plays 5 hours of sports on the weekend, is likely to be more fit than the
child who spends less than 3 hours of screen time but does not exercise at all.
The fitness level that we are assessing is
based on the activity of children as a replacement of sedentary screen time.
Free active play, such as riding bikes and hide and seek contribute
tremendously to fitness and gives children a sense of autonomy and freedom that
also contributes to their overall mental health.
I think the benefits to children are
tremendous, that if they spent more time playing actively than on a screen,
they would benefit in physical and mental health. Perhaps the lesson is mainly
for parents who find it easier to leave their children hour after hour sitting
in front of a screen rather than actively engaged in play which stimulates the
body and mind. Promoting healthier and happier children is certainly beneficial
to childhood, as well as the long term effects on those children's futures.
The challenges to such findings is for
parents who have no choice, either because they live in neighborhoods that do
not allow for free play, or they work long hours and do not have the capacity to
take their kids out accordingly.
To end this thought, I did a google scholar
search on this topic and found several research articles that address this topic.
The screen time was related to obesity, BMI, fitness level and more. My
findings tell me that this is a hot topic, but one that has already been studied
and may not need much more investigation; however investigating it further in early
childhood may be beneficial.
Hi Zeina,
ReplyDeleteI like your post, I also post on medical research mainly Cancer. I do not like the idea of using young children as subjects for research, but I also understand that in some cases it must be done in order to save the lives of children. Yes, children in obesity is a very hot topic and yes much research has been done on it. This subject keeps surfacing and resurfacing. When you really think about it this is exactly what we adults do. We know what's good for us and what we need to be successful in the area of over weight, but are we willing to do it? Our children are watching and they are mimicking what we are doing.
I think that screen time definitely contributes to children being overweight without evening having to do research. Children these days don't know how to "play" like they did when I was a kid. I used to get on my bike and make it happen all day. I do live in an area in which it is too hot for children to be outside in the summer in 115 degree weather but even when its cooler the parks are vacant. I saw an 18 month old holding her mothers iphone this week watching a movie at the mall. That saddened me that parents are starting younger and younger with technology being babysitters. I am not saying that I did not do the same but not that the levels that I see it today. I tell my daughter all the time that being lazy isn't allowed. She gets upset because I enroll her in sports.
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