by Victoria L. Dunckley, M.D. in Mental Wealth, 12 January 2013
An alarming new trend in teens links screen-time to serious health issues
When I first began looking into the research behind screens and the stress response a few years ago, there was one major study linking screen-time to metabolic syndrome (defined below) in adolescents. Now, just a short time later, the evidence has become quite robust.
Public health researchers the world over are implicating screen-time as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome in adolescents; Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey: Kang et al, 2010; Australia: Hardy et al, 2010; Norway: Danielson et al 2011; European Youth Heart Study: Grontved et al 2012; Canada/US: Mark & Janssen, 2008. Interestingly, the risk seems to hold regardless of physical activity level. In other words, if we look at two children with the same activity/exercise levels, but Child A’s sedentary activity is reading, while Child B’s sedentary activity is screen-related, Child B will have a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Evidence suggests that screen-related activities cause stress, inflammation, and changes in blood sugar regulation, all of which contribute to risk for metabolic syndrome. Television in particular seems to increase the risk,[1] possibly by slowing down metabolic rate.
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