According to a new report from Cancer Research UK, young children getting excessive screen time are more likely to pester their parents for junk food.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool and Cancer Research UK’s Cancer Policy Research Centre analysed the eating behaviours and the screen time spent, outside of doing homework, for 2500 children aged 7-11 years. Children were found to spend an average of 16 hours per week being online (excluding time spent on homework), and an additional 22 hours per week watching television.
The findings showed that children who spent >0.5 hours daily on the internet were twice as likely to coax their parents into buying junk food. Children who spent >3 hours daily on the internet had a 4 times greater likelihood of spending their pocket money on chocolate, crisps, sugary drinks and takeaways compared with those who spent half an hour on the web.
Similar results were found for time spent watching television. Every additional hour of time spent by children watching commercial television was associated with an increased likelihood of them demanding advertised products from parents. Watching television for >3 hours also significantly increased the chances of buying chocolates and sugary drinks, and increased the risk for obesity or overweight.
Dr. Jyotsna Vohra from Cancer Research UK said: "Obesity is the biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK after smoking, so it’s vital we see a 9 pm watershed on junk food adverts on TV and similar protection for children viewing adverts on-demand and online."
