When we slouch on the couch and spend hours staring at that colorful electronic box called a television, we are actually, subconsciously, taking in hours of subtle indoctrination via TV commercials. At the same time, we are also allowing ourselves to lapse into a sedentary lifestyle, snacking on junk food as a complementary habit. And these cause-and-effect links are very real, as revealed in a recent University of Minnesota study, which found that teens who watch more than 5 hours of TV each day are more likely to become fast food junkies when they reach young adulthood.
Details and Findings of Study
The study, published online in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, had looked at data on 1,366 students from high school and 564 students from middle school. Information on the number of hours every day which the students spent watching TV was collated and compared with information on their dietary habits five years later as they reached young adulthood.
The researchers found that high school students who watched over 5 hours of TV each day consumed less fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods as young adults, and instead had a higher intake of fast food, fried foods, snack foods, sugary drinks as well as foods with trans fats.
It seems the advertisements for fast food restaurants and other similar junk foods are having an impact. "Television watching impacts diet choices adolescents make five years later," said Daheia Barr-Anderson, an assistant professor of kinesiology and the leader of the study. She further conjectured that snacking during TV time makes the young ones more likely to eat the foods which are being advertised.
Details and Findings of Study
The study, published online in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, had looked at data on 1,366 students from high school and 564 students from middle school. Information on the number of hours every day which the students spent watching TV was collated and compared with information on their dietary habits five years later as they reached young adulthood.
The researchers found that high school students who watched over 5 hours of TV each day consumed less fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods as young adults, and instead had a higher intake of fast food, fried foods, snack foods, sugary drinks as well as foods with trans fats.
It seems the advertisements for fast food restaurants and other similar junk foods are having an impact. "Television watching impacts diet choices adolescents make five years later," said Daheia Barr-Anderson, an assistant professor of kinesiology and the leader of the study. She further conjectured that snacking during TV time makes the young ones more likely to eat the foods which are being advertised.
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