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Fat kids face extra risk
31/10/2007 13:06 - (SA)
Chicago - Watching too much television may not only help make children fat, it may also raise their blood pressure, said United States researchers on Tuesday.
They found obese children who watched four or more hours of TV a day were three times more likely to have high blood pressure than children who watched less than two hours a day.
Dr Jeffrey Schwimmer of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine: "There is a significant association between hours of television watched and both the severity of obesity and the presence of hypertension in obese children."
Many studies have found a strong link between watching TV and obesity, but this is the first study to show a link between TV and blood pressure in obese children and teens, wrote the researchers.
Obesity in children is on the rise, increasing the risk of heart disease and diabetes. And high blood pressure in children has been rising right along with obesity rates.
The problem is often undiagnosed in children and, if undetected, high blood pressure can quietly damage the organs, especially the kidneys.
Schwimmer worked with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of South Alabama.
Hypertension more likely
They studied 546 children and teens aged four to 17 seen at weight management clinics from 2003 to 2005.
Height and weight were measured to determine a body mass index, or BMI, and blood pressure was recorded.
Children were considered obese if their BMI measures were above the 95th percentile for age and gender. Children in the study had a mean BMI of 35.5. In adults, a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
The children and their parents estimated how much time they spent watching TV, and a doctor reviewed and confirmed their estimates.
The researchers found children who watched two to four hours of TV were 2.5 times more likely to have high blood pressure compared with those who watched less than two hours a day. Those who watched more than four hours a day were 3.3 times more likely to have hypertension.
The authors said the study illustrated the need for parents to curb their children's TV time, especially for children who already were obese or had high blood pressure.
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends children watch fewer than two hours of TV a day.
About 17% of US children are obese, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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