TV-free week gets support of physicians

Evidence linking excessive television viewing to poor health has doctors trying to convince patients to cut back time in front of the tube.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. May 5, 2003.

The parents came to Jennifer Petrillo, MD, worried because their 10-year-old son wasn't sleeping. The Phillipsburg, N.J., family physician asked the usual questions about nutrition and school, but then she asked about the television. How much did the child watch and when?

"Literally all this kid's time was spent staring at a video screen, and they thought this was great," said Dr. Petrillo. She had to convince the parents that getting the television out of their son's bedroom would be the best thing for him.

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Dr. Petrillo is part of a growing cadre of doctors recognizing that television viewing time, as well as the location and number of TV sets in the home, may be important health indicators. Last month, she put out bookmarks and hung posters in her office announcing the ninth annual TV-Turnoff Week, seven days in April when the TV-Turnoff Network asks everyone to turn off their sets. The group has 17,000 organizers working locally, and Dr. Petrillo was one of hundreds of physicians participating.

For every 2 hours of daily TV viewing, the risk of obesity jumps 23% and diabetes risk rises 14%.

"A TV-free lifestyle is better for the whole family," said Dr. Petrillo. "Once people get used to it, they realize they're not missing anything and all of a sudden they have free time to do other things."

The event was endorsed by more than 70 organizations, including the American Medical Association. For years, medical societies have been involved in television issues, mostly the link between excessive viewing and child behavioral problems. Several medical societies recommend no television for the very young, no more than two hours daily for most children, and careful show selection.

"It really is important for kids to have time away from the TV where they can be creative," said Kenneth Haller, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

Health risks for couch potatoes

Increasing attention is being paid, however, to the impact on the physical health of adults and children.

Several studies have linked the increase in television viewing hours to a sedentary lifestyle leading to obesity and its accompanying morbidities. Most recently, a paper published in the April 9 issue of JAMA found that every two hours of television viewing per day was associated with a 23% jump in obesity and a 14% rise in diabetes risk.

TV-Turnoff Week has been endorsed by more than 70 organizations.

"People are spending an increasing amount of time on their derriere," said AMA Trustee John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, a Salt Lake City obstetrician-gynecologist. "And the number of hours of television children watch today is astronomical."

New evidence of TV's detrimental health effects, though, leaves doctors struggling with how to fit one more issue into the shrinking office visit.

"It is a new thing, and physicians are going to say: 'Oh, great, now there's a media history [we] have to fill out in addition to all the others,' " said Dr. Haller. "But if you ask a few simple questions, you're fine, and you have to ask. Media is so much more pervasive than ever."

Physicians stress that TV-Turnoff Week does not necessarily mean banning television forever. Most expect and hope that people will return to TV with a renewed appreciation of the other things in life.

"As much as I think TV-Turnoff Week is a good idea, there's also a lot of good quality TV shows out there," said Dr. Haller. "TV shows can be a means for parents to sit down with kids and talk about all sorts of issues and problems."