Feature Articles: Food, Fitness and Exercise
Turn off TV, Turn on a Healthier Lifestyle
James E. Meyer, Nutrition Specialist, Ralls County, University of Missouri Extension
Healthcare costs in this country continue to rise. While
federal and state governments struggle to find solutions, we
as consumers are faced with an ever-bigger part of our
paycheck going to pay for healthcare insurance. So, what can
we as individuals do to help hold down healthcare costs and
improve our own health? The answer is as simple as turning
off your television and getting up and being physically
active.
Already, more than one in four adults in the US are
obese. With its accompanying health risks, obesity causes an
estimated 300,000 premature deaths each year according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is
now the number two preventable cause of death in the United
States, behind smoking.
Turning off the TV is a great way to improve the health
of you and your family. There are two keys to being healthy
– physical activity and eating a variety of foods in
moderation. Watching less TV can help you with both of
these.
Don’t have time to be physically active? You are not
alone. As a society, we have created a lifestyle that has
removed much of the physical activity from our daily lives.
According to the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report on Physical
Activity and Health, 60 percent of Americans do not get
enough physical activity to stay healthy and 25 percent
engage in no physical activity whatsoever.
Yet many of us have more time than we think. Children in
the US average almost three hours of television each day,
and adults average over four hours. Cutting back on
television is a great way to find time to play outside, take
a walk, or pick up a new sport. According to Dr. William
Dietz, Director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical
Activity at the CDC, “The easiest way to reduce inactivity
is to turn off the TV set. Almost anything else uses more
energy than watching TV.” A body in front of the tube is a
body at rest.
Not only does watching TV keep you inactive, it also
encourages an unhealthy diet. Research shows that the more
TV children watch, the more likely they are to snack between
meals, consume foods advertised on TV, and attempt to
influence their parent’s food purchases. Consequently, the
more TV children watch, the more likely they are to be
overweight.
Take action to improve your health and the health of your
family. Here are some TV-turnoff tips:
- Keep the TV off during mealtimes.
- Engage in physical activity as a family.
- Move your TV to a less prominent location.
- Designate certain days of the week as TV-free days.
- Remove the TV set from your child’s bedroom.
- Hide the remote.
- Don’t worry if children say they are bored. Boredom passes and often leads to creativity.
Because children are influenced by what parents do, it is
important that whatever effort you make to be more
physically active or watch less TV is done as a family. In
this supporting context, turning off the TV becomes a family
effort, a way to bond and spend time together. Start with my
TV-Turnoff Tips – and then be sure to turn on life.
For more information about health and nutrition, contact your local University of Missouri Extension office.
Last update: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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