In The News - Lots of TV and Web Harms Children's Health

My husband was looking at the news on MSNBC and found the article entitled "Lots of TV and Web harms children's health". I read that title and the article itself and finish the whole thing like I almost always do, shaking my head.

Why is it that in this day and age in America we need to be told time and again that too much of anything is bad for our children, let alone bad for us? It's not rocket science to know that too much of anything (even money) is a bad thing. And I would know, I am an aerospace engineer. ^_^ (get it? I'm a rocket scientist? Nevermind...)

But since most people seem to have uncommon (as opposed to common) sense, I thought I'd talk about the article here.

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Yale University and the California Pacific Medical Center experts analyzed 173 studies done since 1980 in one of the most comprehensive assessments to date on how exposure to media sources impacts the physical health of children and adolescents.

The studies, most conducted in the United States, largely focused on television, but some looked at video games, films, music, and computer and Internet use. Three quarters of them found that increased media viewing was associated with negative health outcomes.

The moral of the story? A sedentary lifestyle for children, like adults, results in obesity. No duh. You mean to tell me that sitting in front of the television all day and not exercising your body (or your brain) is a bad thing? Well who would have thought it? (/sarcasm)

Seriously folks. Will we ever get to the point where we don't need doctors and scientists to point out the obvious to us? I sure hope so.