Look who's watching: "the (junior) couch potato of today is the fat-farm candidate of tomorrow." (includes suggestions for enhancing physical fitness in children)

I hardly ever watch television, but last night I just happened to see..." "Our TV stays on almost all day, but we hardly ever watch it." "Hey, I only watch TV for the news." Have you ever noticed how people hate to admit how much TV or just which programs they actually watch? Then why do most American homes, including the lowest socioeconomic groups, have at least one and often two or more television sets?

Come on, America, fess up. You've heard it before: the first step in finding a cure is admitting there is a problem. Is there a problem? Though television can definitely make positive contributions, it often changes from a tool we actively use to enhance our lives into an intrusive influence whose commercial sponsors use us and, more often, our children for their own ends.

"The [junior] couch potato of today is the fat-farm candidate of tomorrow." So says Kate O'Shea, an exercise physiologist with the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD).

"There is a definite risk of obesity as children who aren't fit get older, beginning with adolescence. If there's no change in diet or exercise patterns after the age of 18, as a general rule you'll add one pound of body fat and lose the use of about a half-pound of muscle each year as the muscles atrophy. Thirty years after high school, people are 30 pounds heavier because of inactivity."

The causes of obesity fall into three categories: (1) high energy intake, (2) low energy expenditure, and (3) genetic and parental influences. Though some people are more prone to obesity because of genetic influences, most researchers now agree that other factors-such as culture, environment, and lifestyle-contribute more to obesity than genetics.

Two culprits are especially singled out for their influence on obesity among America's children: (1) the pervasive influence of television, and (2) a decreased emphasis on physical education and lifetime fitness in our schools.

Children between the ages of 6 and 11 watch an average of 26 hours of TV a week. The passivity of television viewing, its substitution for more energy intensive activities, and its barrage of commercials for nonnutritious food items, coupled with the prevalence of thin, good-looking stars, are all attributes of TV that contribute to a higher energy intake and lower energy expenditure.

A special report in the New England Journal of Medicine (1981) stated that a typical week's prime-time dramatic programs included eating, drinking, or talking about food an average of nine times per hour. Actors are portrayed grabbing snacks almost as frequently as eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined.

In children's programs, snacking went up to 45 percent of all eating/drinking episodes, and other meals declined to 24 percent. Sweets, snacks, and nonnutritious junk foods made up nearly half of all food commercials. Despite this frequency of snacking and drinking, characters themselves were found to be not only healthy, relatively sober, and safe from accidents, but slim at all ages.

A more recent study by Dr. Nancy Cotugna of the University of Delaware showed that in spite of the trend among Americans since the 1970s to become more health-conscious, very few changes have occurred in television advertising directed at children.

For example, her study found that the ratio of ads for high-sugar cereals to low-sugar cereals increased twofold, ads for high-fat fast foods increased, and high sodium canned pasta ads more than doubled.

Although watching others indulge in unhealthy nutritional practices on TV is not the same as actually engaging in those practices, studies have shown that the amount of time spent watching such behavior is translating into practice of the same.

A study conducted by General Mills found that next to doctors, TV was the most frequent source of health information. The same study found such common dysfunctional characteristics as poor nutritional knowledge and behavior and general complacency about health among those who watch TV frequently.

Not only is there an increase in our society in such sedentary activities as television and computer games; there is insufficient emphasis on physical education programs in the schools. Only four states require students to take physical education in all grades, and only Illinois requires it every day.

Although traditional team sports in school will continue to play an important role in teaching discipline as well as giving kids a sense of belonging, additional emphasis should be placed on lifetime fitness: those activities that can be continued into adulthood. More programs need to be developed that appeal to kids who aren't necessarily natural athletes. They are the ones who tend to be less coordinated and are often picked last in team sports, causing them to eventually drop out of activities as children and setting the stage for a mostly sedentary adult life.

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) has developed a plan to help kids in the above category. Physical Best is a noncompetitive physical education program designed for children ages 5 to 18. This program teaches both how to make healthy decisions and to stay in shape. More and more specialists are developing similar programs, which will help instill in children a love for fitness that will stay with them throughout their life.

Because treatment of obesity is still being studied and has been found to be a complex and difficult problem, prevention should be made a high priority. Parents take heart. You do have a voice and can make a difference. Studies have shown that parental influence in both the areas pinpointed as culprits in the article is very strong.

One study found that "the interaction of child and mother appears to be crucial to the direction of the child's response to TV ads." This same study reported that the number of hours spent viewing TV or reading magazines or newspapers had less influence on variables than did this mother/child interaction.

Of course, self-evaluation is the first step in this process. Carefully examine your own nutritional choices and lifestyle habits. Healthy nutritional practices and lifetime fitness begins at home. In this age of advanced technology, you can no longer assume your children are getting enough exercise by virtue of their youth alone. Regular physical activity should be a part of the entire family's lifestyle.

Taking an active role to bring about changes in the community is a positive step toward reversing this frightening trend. Let television networks know you would like them to be more nutritionally responsible. Network executives have responded to various social concerns in the past. Public pressure worked when vitamin companies voluntarily withdrew all commercials shown during children's viewing times largely because of pressure from a public-interest group called ACT (Action for Children's Television). They need to know what people want.

Encouraging community-based programs aimed at increasing physical activity has also been found to be an effective step toward the prevention of obesity. It is important that children develop a positive attitude toward physical activity early on, since lifestyle patterns are formed when we are very young.

It is also important to remember that we do have choices and that we need to teach our children the same. After all of the evidence is in, it still appears that children learn primarily by example. Our influence is a powerful tool that God has given every person to use in caring for His precious gifts-our children. It seems actions do speak louder than words, and, yes, our children are watching us.

Suggestions for Adults to Enhance Physical Fitness in Children 1. Never use exercise as punishment. 2. Always avoid elimination activities, because the first children to be eliminated are usually the ones who need the exercise the most. Everyone should be a "winner" just for trying hard. The more positive and nonthreatening the situation, the more the child will want to take part, and consequently, the more physically fit the child will become. 3. Never let children choose their teammates. Whent wo captains pick their teams, the less-coordinated children are always chosen last. This places a bigger negative stigma on exercise than before the picking started! Adults should assign children to various teams.