Turn off the TV and turn on some family fun:
Families urged to replace TV time with activity
RALEIGH— Make plans now to turn off the television for a week
and get moving! National TV-Turnoff Week is April 24-30.
TV-Turnoff Week promote healthier lives and communities by encouraging
children and adults to watch less television. Since the national movement
began in 1995, millions of people have participated in TV-Turnoff Week
through their schools, churches or community groups.
“TV-Turnoff Week is a great time to reconnect with our families
and our lives and to promote healthy living,” said Jimmy Newkirk,
physical activity coordinator with the N.C. Division of Public Health. “It
gives us a chance to get active, think, read, create, spend time with
others, get involved in our communities, and do other things we feel
we never have time to do.”
More than 30 percent of North Carolina children between the ages of
2 and 20 are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, according
to data from the 2004 North Carolina Nutrition and Physical Activity
Surveillance System (NCNPASS). And the problem doesn’t end with
children. The statewide 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS) survey found that 36 percent of North Carolina adults are overweight
and 24 percent are obese.
“Television cuts into family time, harms our children’s
ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy
lifestyles and obesity,” said Dr. Suzanne Lazorick, a pediatrician
with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
On average, children in the U.S. will spend more time in front of
the television this year (1,023 hours) than in school (900 hours).
Research has found that overweight and obesity are linked to television
viewing habits. According to the April 2006 issue of Preventing Chronic
Disease, more than two hours of television viewing a day was associated
with overweight and obesity in both men and women.
National TV-Turnoff Week is sponsored by TV-Turnoff Network and is
supported by over 70 national organizations,including the American
Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education
Association, and President’s Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports.
For tips on how to reduce television viewing time in your home, visit
www.EatSmartMoveMoreNC.com, click on the purple consumer button, and
click on Tame the Tube to find “Moving More, Watching Less.”
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