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, AMNews 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.

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.

"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.