Childhood Obesity Causes - Can Too Much Screen Time Play a Role?

Childhood obesity has rapidly become one of the most important - and most talked about - national health issues in recent years, as more young people are battling obesity than at any other time in our history. As a country, we'll obviously have to deal with the effects of this sweeping problem, but to do this, we need to understand childhood obesity causes. Can the overuse of the TV, Internet, video games, and other multimedia and entertainment devices play a role in this issue?

Some childhood obesity causes are genetic, as family traits can predispose a child to becoming overweight. However, many other causes are behavioral, and include:

• Bad eating habits

• Overeating

• Lack of exercise

• Poor body image / low self-esteem

• Mimicking unhealthy parental behavior, such as bad eating habits, lack of exercise, etc.

• And more

These are just a handful of the childhood obesity causes, but as you look them over, it's easy to see how too much screen time can go hand-in-hand with many of these factors. Spending too much time at the computer or on the couch can easily lead to or increase any of these causes, and be a potential instigator for childhood obesity.

If you are worried your child might be at risk for childhood obesity, or have already seen many of these childhood obesity causes and their effects on your child, you should speak with your family doctor. However, if you are also looking to create a healthy, effective system for managing your child's screen time on the TV, Internet, video games, or other devices in order to prevent childhood obesity, check out the Mikko Que. This innovative device is the most advanced parental control device on the market, and gives you the ability to control screen time on multiple devices in your home easily and effectively. With the Mikko Que you can reduce the use of electronic devices by decreasing your child's time allowance over a period of time.  For example, in a given month you might allow your child 10 hours a day of use. Then, you can reduce usage to eight hours a day the next month and so on until your child's media consumption is more in line with recommended standards. This technique is less obtrusive and will result in less resistance.  It will also give parents the peace of mind that during sleeping hours their children are not up watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Internet.

Contact us today to learn more.

Media Management for Children ... It's time.