Rise in Obesity in U.S. Children Linked to TV Viewing

CHICAGO — Television may be contributing to a near epidemic of obesity among American children because it drives metabolism dramatically lower, even below that found in youngsters who are simply resting, researchers said Monday.

“Television viewing has a fairly profound lowering effect on metabolic rate and may be a primary mechanism for the relationship between obesity and amount of television viewing,” said the study published in the February issue of the medical journal Pediatrics.

“Excessive television viewing may place a child at high risk for obesity,” considering the lower metabolism and the high-fat snacks that often accompany the hours couch potatoes spend in front of the tube, it said.

The study from Memphis State University and the University of Tennessee in Memphis was described as the first to explore the metabolic effects of TV viewing.

The researchers said childhood obesity has become a near epidemic in the United States, afflicting as many as one out of every four youngsters, not to mention about 30% of adult Americans.

An earlier survey found that U.S. children aged 6 to 11 watched about 26 hours of TV every week.