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| February 2009 |  |
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 ere’s
some research-based support for parents who want to limit the amount
of time their kids are spending on the many forms of media available
to them now. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the nonprofit advocacy group Common Sense Media reviewed 173 studies on the effects of media consumption on children, and a new report on their findings shows a strong  correlation
between greater exposure and adverse health outcomes.“Couch potato does, unfortunately, sum it up pretty well,” says Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, chair of bioethics at the NIH Clinical Center and one of five reviewers of the study. Here are some of the specific findings: MORE TIME SPENT WITH TV, movies, video games, magazines, music and the Internet was linked to increases in childhood obesity, tobacco use and sexual behavior. The studies also showed strong correlations with drug and alcohol use and low academic achievement. EVIDENCE OF A RELATIONSHIP between media exposure and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was also found. VERY FEW OF THE STUDIES have shown positive associations between media consumption and children’s health. Of the 1800 media-related studies conducted since 1980, only 173 met the criteria for this research, which suggests the need for more research in this area. “Media has evolved at a dizzying pace, but there’s almost no research about Facebook, MySpace, cellphones, et cetera,” says Dr. Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, which helped finance the study. His group, founded in 2003, provides family-oriented reviews and ratings of movies, websites, TV shows and video games. In addition to seeking more research on media’s effects on kids, the organization is pushing for limits to be set on advertising to children. (Visit www.commonsensemedia.org for more information.) “The average parent doesn’t understand that if you plop your kids down in front of the TV or the computer for five hours a day, it can change their brain development, it can make them fat, and it can lead them to get involved in risky sexual activity at a young age,” says Dr. Steyer. It’s a complicated issue. Says Dr. Emanuel: “We have to be concerned about what’s on TV, but we also have to be concerned about how much of the day kids are actually interacting with TV and other media.” 
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