Trash your TV
Television is “the greatest unacknowledged health threat of our time” with 15 separate risks to couch potato children, a psychologist claimed.
Dr Aric Sigman is demanding daily viewing limits to help curb health problems ranging from obesity and short-sightedness to premature puberty.
He believes youngsters under three should watch no television at all and parents should banish all TV sets from bedrooms.
In a report in a science journal, Dr Sigman lists 15 ways that exposure to TV screens can harm youngsters:
THESE are Some of the harmful effects of TV on children:
• Obesity. A result of little exercise.
• Disrupted hormones. Light from televisions suppresses production of
the key hormone melatonin.
• Lowered immune system.
• Reduced melatonin may increase the chance of mutations in cell DNA,
which causes cancer.
• Premature puberty. Also linked to low levels of melatonin.
• Sleep disorders. Over-stimulating the senses causes sleeplessness.
• Autism. Linked to a lack of social interaction.