A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the research team says the use of electronic media can be a sedentary behavior that leads to adverse health outcomes and may be detrimental at a very young age.

The researchers of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia have used this data from the European Identification and Prevention of Dietary – and Lifestyle-induced Health Effects in Children and Infants (IDEFICS) study to assess the use of electronic media and its impact on well-being in 3,604 children aged between two and six years old.

Surveys were used to measure six signs of well-being, including emotional and peer problems, self-esteem, emotional well-being, family functioning and social networks.

The likelihood of adverse outcomes in children ranged from a 1.2- to 2.0-fold increase for emotional problems and poorer family functioning for each additional hour of television viewing or computer use depending on the outcome inspected.

A second study was also published in JAMA that indicated more maternal monitoring on the time spent on watching television or playing video games was associated with lower body mass index (BMI).

The authors observed the potential association of parental monitoring of their children's exposure to media and general activities with the children's BMI in an analysis that included 112 mothers, 103 fathers and their 213 children at age five, seven and/or nine years.

The results showed that the less time mothers spent monitoring children’s media consumption, the greater the children’s body mass index was at seven years old.

Dr. Gavin Sandercock, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Physiology, University of Essex, said, “We know that obesity runs in families and this paper shows that the parents of children who get fatter from five to 10 years old are less likely to have rules around TV and screen time.”

Additional Resources:

Early Childhood Electronic Media Use as a Predictor of Poorer Well-being
Parental Monitoring of Children’s Media Consumption