008_TECHNOLOGY[vs]OBESITY

Within the past 20 years obesity in the United States has increased rapidly, especially in children and teenagers. On average, kids in the range from eight to eighteen spend more than seven and a half hours using technology everyday. If all that time was being spent to complete research projects or homework assignments for school that wouldn't sound quite as bad. But that consists mostly of using things such as cell phones, tablets, and video games. If that same amount of time is spent using these devices every day of the week it accumulates to 53 hours per week. Therefore for all of the parents out there; your children might be spending more time on their cell phone or playing video games than you go to work in one week! To add onto what already seems like a ridiculous amount of time, this same study said that since many of them multitask (such as listen to music on their i-pod while surfing the 'net) they actually pack almost eleven hours into that seven or eight hour range.

Most of this information was found from a study done by Kaiser Family Foundation and an article on NYtimes.

 

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Although there are have been many studies done proving that many kids these days spend a lot more time using technology than they used to, it is still not proved to be a major cause of childhood obesity. Even though it is not actually proven in most studies, there are a ton of people that believe that there is a direct link between the two. But I think that more needs to be done. When I see young kids texting and playing on their i-pods, it makes me realize how much times have changed since I was a kid (and I'm only 20!!). Children are being way to reliant and attached to technology at a young age these days. I even know a few kids under the age of 13 who are using Facebook. It is important for the future to get kids outside and off of their computers more often.

Do you think parents should be giving into their children and buying them cell phones and i-pods before or at the age of 10-12?
What is the appropriate age that kids should be allowed to have their own such devices?
Do you believe that there is a direct connection between technology and childhood obesity?