Surprisingly, taking televisions out of the bedroom could help to tackle the issue of childhood obesity.
A lack of sleep has now been linked to weight problems in children, according to sciencedaily.com. From information gained during a study by the University of Alabama, the sleep lost due to watching television or playing on a computer at night contributes to a child's risk of being overweight or obese. Just one extra hour's sleep can reduce that risk by as much as 30%.
In the study of almost 3,400 Canadian students, more than half admitted to using electronic devices after lights out. Those children with one electronic device in the bedroom were reportedly 1.47 times as likely to be overweight as the children without electronic devices in their rooms, while children with three such devices were 2.57 times as likely to be overweight.
The report's co-author, Professor Paul Veugelers, recommended removing electronic devices from children's bedrooms to give them a better night's sleep and to improve their health prospects in future years.
