Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, February 7, 2010 5:09 pm

QUESTION: Which one of these photos represents 120 calories?

ANSWER: All.

Do you feel the need to lose a little weight after the excesses of the holidays? Believe it or not, according to a new study, simply watching less TV could cause you to burn an average of 120 more calories per day!

That doesn’t sound huge, but according to the New York Times, that is the number of calories burned on a one mile walk. It is also the number of calories in these servings of foods.

According to Dr. Jennifer Otten, lead author of the study:

“We need a longer-term study to see if this would be an intervention that would help with weight loss, or even weight gain prevention. But if you add it up over time, it’s equivalent to walking eight miles a week. Over a year, it might help prevent weight gain of 12 pounds.“

Why does unplugging have this effect? According to the study by Dr. Otten published in the December 14-28 of the Archives of Internal Medicine, adults who cut their TV viewing in half spent more time in light physical activities, or even couch-potato activities that burn more calories than TV-watching does (simple “unplugged” activities like reading, playing board games or scrapbooking!). Their eating patterns did not change*.

The study was based on 36 overweight and obese adults who watched at least 3 hours of television per day. 20 of those people were asked to cut their viewing in half (enforced through a TV lock-out device). Armband accelerometers measured the movements of all participants.

*NOTE: An interesting inference from the NY Times Article is that children who cut back on TV actually DO EAT LESS TOO! Would kids benefit even more than adults by cutting TV viewing in half??

Interesting links:

What Does 120 Calories Look Like? (Be sure to look at the 38 photos at the bottom of the page too)

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

Click Off the TV, and Burn More Calories

THE STUDY: Effects of Television Viewing Reduction on Energy Intake and Expenditure in Overweight and Obese Adults - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, June 23, 2009 9:44 pm

I have been a very minimalist blogger lately, popping in once a week to post the Linky for the Unplugged Project. I guess I have been taking a bit of a refreshing blog break. Time and inspiration permitting, I might be up for writing a bit more often than I have been.

So, here is my first TV-related post in a while for anyone interested in television and its effects on children.

Many thanks to my friend Wishy who is always way more up with current news than I am, and who kindly emails me links to any article she thinks might be of interest on my blog! I guess she is my Director of Current Affairs.

Here is Wishy’s latest find: Even Background TV May Delay Children’s Speech. This article is nearly a month old, but that’s how long it took me to get around to writing my post. Oh well.

According this MSNBC article, a new study* has found that for each hour of television exposure (even as background noise), infants heard 770 fewer words spoken to them by adults (a 7% decrease). There was also a decrease in the number and length of children’s vocalizations, as well as child-adult conversation.

The possible explanation for this? Here is the researchers’ conclusion:

“Some of these reductions are likely due to children being left alone in front of the television screen,” the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, “but others likely reflect situations in which adults, though present, are distracted by the screen and not interacting with their infant in a discernible manner.”

I would imagine that most mothers have been naturally chatting away with their pre-verbal babies since language first began. But experts now realize that two-way linguistic interaction with adults is absolutely crucial for infant language development.

By the way, one startling fact from this article is that 30% of households have the TV on all the time. Wow!

A final thought: I wonder if too much talk radio would also have the same negative effect on language development. I know when I am trying to listen to the news on NPR, I am not paying a whole lot of attention to what my children are saying either.

This is a good reminder for us all I think.

++++++++++

* The study, entitled Audible Television and Decreased Adult Words, Infant Vocalizations, and Conversational Turns, appeared in the June 2009 issue of The Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. Here is a link to the abstract. The full article is also available online with membership, or for a one-time access fee.

++++++++++

(Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com)

Comments (23)

By Mom Unplugged, April 18, 2009 8:50 pm

April 20th through the 26th is Turnoff Week (formerly TV Turnoff Week, but now it applies to all “screens”). As I mentioned previously, I will once again be hosting a Blog Challenge for those who dare to give the no screen (or reduced screen) thing a try for a week. A few intrepid souls have already expressed an interest in giving it a try. Thank you!

I am very late in posting the instructions. Usually I start a few weeks ahead of time! However this year, I have been really busy with other, “real life” obligations.

Finally though - for those who have already indicated that they want to give it a go, and anyone else who wants to attempt it, here is how the 3rd Annual Turnoff Week Blog Challenge will work:

Phase 1 -

1) Write a post about the challenge that sets forth your goals, reasons for joining in, etc. The more people we can reach and get to join in, the more fun and educational it will be! Remember, it is not just about giving up TV, what about the “other screens” in your life? The computer is my personal downfall so I will be concentrating on reducing that.

2) Link to your post in Mr. Linky below (leave a comment too in case Mr. Linky goes haywire, as occasionally happens, and I have to take him off).

3) Steal the Blog Challenge badge and put it in your sidebar, linking to Unplug Your Kids. Let me know if you need help with this step.

Two sizes:

Phase 2 -

Do your best to meet your goals from April 20-26. If you aren’t successful, it’s OK. What is important is to try, and to learn something from the experience.

Phase 3 -

1) After Turnoff Week ends (April 26th is the last day), write a post about how it went: the good, the bad, and the ugly! Sharing experiences helps everyone.

2) I will also write a “How it Went” post and I will put up a new Mr. Linky. Put the link to your “How it Went” post in the new Mr. Linky (plus comment just in case).

3) On Wednesday, May 6th I will draw a random name from among those who completed the challenge by putting up their final post (remember, whether you met your goals or not, completion just means blogging about it!). If you don’t put up your final post and enter it in the Linky before that date, then I can’t enter you in the contest. A random person will win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Finally, I have to apologize to a few of you who asked me questions that I have not answered yet. I have just been SO busy this past week, that I haven’t had a chance to think about the blog, or email, or anything much. I do appreciate your questions, and I will try and send you an email tomorrow (Sunday).

Here is the first Mr. Linky. Anyone who wants to enter the 3rd Annual Turnoff Week Blog Challenge should write a post about their intentions and link to it here. Even if you indicated in the comments to my last post about this that you wanted to join, please be sure to link to your goal-setting post here, to make it “official!”

Comments (11)

By Mom Unplugged, April 10, 2009 8:44 pm

I am finally posting about the 3rd Annual Turnoff Week blog challenge.

This year’s National Turnoff Week begins April 20th and runs through April 26th. I plan on hosting another Turnoff Week Blog Challenge for those who want to take the plunge and give the TV-free life a try!

Can you turn off your TV for one week? Can you turn off your computer for one week? Can you at least reduce your family and personal screen time for one week?

These are things to think about. The idea is not to feel guilt about doing it or not, “succeeding” or not, but simply to gain awareness of the amount of time that we all spend in front of screens these days.

Even without TV, I have my own “screen-issue.” The computer is my downfall. I will try to reduce my computer time that week.

Think about it. Discuss it with your family. Perhaps this would be a good time to try reducing your screen time if you have been considering it.

I’ll post more later about how to join in the Blog Challenge (as always, there will be a small bribe prize for a random participant!!), but I just wanted to plant the seed in your thoughts today.

So, is anyone interested in giving it a try?

Comments (15)

By Mom Unplugged, February 5, 2009 9:33 pm

I am depriving my children of an “essential good.”

In Brazil, I might be prosecuted in court. Did anyone hear this little NPR blurb yesterday?

A Brazilian man missed out on soccer matches, the news and a “popular reality show,” when a store did not replace his faulty TV. The judge found in favor of the man, ruling that in modern times, TV is an “essential good.”

Are those of us who do not have TV in our homes, guilty of child abuse? Are we depriving our little ones of an “essential good?”

What about those whose children (TV in the house or not) miss Sponge Bob, Hannah Montana and PBS. OK, Sponge Bob and Hannah Montana are arguable…but PBS? What about Discovery? Is censorship of our children depriving them of an “essential good?”

Am I depriving my children of educational/cultural experiences by not having TV at all?

I wish we could elect to get a few select Discovery Channel, National Geographic, PBS, History Channel shows without receiving all the other stuff. But even those channels can be edgy at times. We were away recently and the only thing on History (or was it Discovery?) was the history of torture devices. Another of those educational channels had a show about Hitler.

I am not depriving my children by having a TV-free home. Culturally they get a lot on the playground: they know about Sponge Bob and Hannah Montana. As far as education goes, my kids get a huge amount of that from school and reading books, just like kids did before TV.

Am I depriving my children of an “essential good?” Personally, I think not.