Switch

Cedar Rapids is in the news! The National Institute on Media and the Family recently announced that its community and family-focused pilot program showed that a substantial number of kids turned off their televisions, engaged in more physical activity and ate more fruits and vegetables.

The eight-month pilot program called Switch was conducted with more than 600 children in five elementary schools in Cedar Rapids and two elementary schools in Lakeville, Minnesota during the 2005-2006 school year.

Switch is the first childhood obesity prevention project to incorporate the amount of screen time component as a factor for the overall health of children. The program purpose is to Switch what children Do, View and Chew. This MediaWise program seeks to give parents and communities the tools they need to address all three major contributing factors to childhood obesity: activity level, diet and screen time.

And why is this needed?

Kids today spend more time in front of a screen than any other activity except sleeping. On average, they clock close to 45 hours a week fixed to electronic screens. Not surprisingly, Institute research and other studies demonstrate a link between the amount of time kids spend in front of screens and their risk of becoming overweight or obese.

The study showed that after eight months of participating in the program, the children most at risk of being obese or overweight substantially improved their physical activity and eating habits. In fact, at the end of the program, the most obese children cut their screen time by 5 1/2 hours per week, and more than four out of 10 kids in Switch reported watching less television and spending less time playing video games.

"This study provides the most concrete evidence to date that excessive amounts of screen time vastly increase the risk of childhood obesity," said Dr. David Walsh, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family. "Every parent needs to understand the link and take significant steps in turning off their child's television and computer."

I written in the past at Watch What Your Kids Watch and The Smart Thing To Do about the link between excessive media consumption and childhood obesity. This is a problem that's not going away soon and needs to be dealt with.

Kudos to MediaWise and the Cedar Rapids School District. This is a step in the right direction. But it's just a step. Healthy, life-style behavioral change needs to be continually reinforced by families, schools and the community.

It's time to turn off the television, pause the video gaming system, log off the computer, and get some exercise. What good can we do if we redeem even half of the 45 hours a week that the average child spends in front of a screen? It's time to make a switch.