Children who spend more than 3 hours a day in front of a TV or computer are more likely to develop diabetes than those who spend less than an hour.
The screens promote overweight and diabetes in our dear little darlings. In Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers from the universities of London and Glasgow show that children who spend more than 3 hours a day in front of the television and the computer have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The scientists relied on the monitoring of nearly 4,500 children aged 9 to 10 attending school in London, Birmingham and Leicester. These young participants were asked to perform several health exams to assess their cardiovascular risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as fasting blood sugar and blood sugar levels. hypertension. They also had to report daily the time spent in front of the television, the game console and the computer.
Only 4% of children did not have access to screens during the day, while almost 2 in 5 spent an hour or less per day on this activity. Almost one in three children reported spending between 1 and 2 hours and just over one in 10 between 2 and 3 hours. 1 in 5 sat in front of screens for more than 3 hours per day. Among the latter, boys were the most numerous.
Insulin resistance
The researchers’ analysis reveals that the more time children spend in front of screens, the more their risk factors for developing diabetes are present. In fact, children who spend more than 3 hours in front of a computer or TV have a higher BMI and body fat than those who spend less than an hour per day.
In addition, boys and girls who participate in TV marathons have higher fasting blood sugar levels than other children, which promotes the development of insulin resistance. This means that these children’s cells are no longer sensitive to insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. These children are therefore at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
For the researchers, these results shed light on the harmful consequences of screens on children. However, they stress that these results are observational and are not definitive. Still, the same consequences have been observed in adults. Numerous studies have shown that a sedentary lifestyle linked to office work, or quite simply the appetite for screens, to the detriment of physical activity, is the bedrock of many heart diseases. Also, the researchers recommend reducing the time spent in front of the screens to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Advice intended for children, but also for parents.
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