The Research Behind Switch

Switch is an evidence- based program developed by the National Institute on Media and the Family and supported by research conducted during the 2005 – 2006 school year with over 1,300 families in Lakeville, MN, and Cedar Rapids, IA.

Findings

• Children who were more obese reported the highest amount of screen time at the beginning of the program.

• Children who were actively engaged in the program and were highest risk reduced screen time, ate more fruits and vegetables, and were more active.

• At the 6-month follow-up, parents reported significantly lower screen time and parents and children both reported significant increases in fruit and vegetable consumption.

A Rise In Screen Time

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s January 2010 Report: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, children’s use of media is pervasive and continues to increase.

  • Children ages 8 to 18 are now spending more than 53 hours a week (7:38 hours/day) using entertainment media. Ten years ago, that figure was 43 hours a week.
  • Television still dominates among young people, followed by music, computers, and video games. TV watched online and over phones has contributed to television viewing.
  • Kids spend 38 minutes a day reading a print publication, compared to 43 minutes a day 10 years ago.
  • Nearly seven in 10 youth have a cell phone, compared to four in 10 a decade ago. Those kids are using mobile phones for music, videos, and other entertainment more than for talking.
  • When parents want to restrict or reduce media use, they can. But few parents enforce the rules they set.
  • Nearly half of all heavy users of media platforms have C grades or lower, compared to 23 percent of light users.
  • The biggest users of media are black and Hispanic youth in their early teen years.

The Link Between Obesity, Screen Time & Nutrition

Media use has both healthy and unhealthy impacts on children.
Healthy media habits can help children:

• Develop cognitive skills
• Gain academic knowledge
• Learn positive behavior
• Build awareness about current events

However, a growing body of evidence shows a number of unhealthy outcomes for kids, including a strong relationship to childhood obesity.

In a recent study 1 of published research:

  • Researchers found that in 73 studies over the past three decades, 86% found a statistically significant relationship between increased media exposure and an increase in childhood obesity.
  • 82% of the studies concluded that more hours of media predicted increased weight over time.
  • A longitudinal study of 5,493 children reported that those who spent more than eight hours watching TV per week at age three were significantly more likely to be obese at age seven.

Media and Child and Adolescent Health: A Systematic Review, Conducted by Yale University School of Medicine and National Institutes of Health and California Pacific Medical Center, November 2008.1

Other Research

  • Children with televisions in their bedrooms are at 31% greater risk for obesity or becoming overweight (Dennison, et al., 2002).
  • 43% of children ages 4–6 have a TV in their room. 26% of children under age 2 have TVs in their rooms.
  • A recent Canadian study reported that “more than 60% of overweight incidence can be linked to excess TV viewing time” (Tremblay and Williams, 2003).
  • A child who is overweight at age 12 has a 75% chance of being overweight as an adult.
  • Screen time is correlated with and is a significant predictor of body mass index (BMI).
  • Incidence of obesity increased by 2% for every additional hour of television watched each week (Dietz, 1985).

Sources:

  • Gentile, D. A., Welk, G., Eisenmann, J. C., Reimer, R. A., Walsh, D. A., Russell, D. W., Callahan, R., Walsh, M., Strickland, S., & Fritz, K. (2009). Evaluation of a multiple ecological level child obesity prevention program: Switch what you do, view, and chew. BMC Medicine, 7, 49. Also available: www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/7/49
  • Laurson, K., Eisenmann, J. C., Welk, G. J., Wickel, E. E., Gentile, D. A., & Walsh, D. A. (2008). Combined influence of physical activity and screen time recommendations on childhood overweight. Journal of Pediatrics, 153, 209-–214.
  • Eisenmann, J. C., Gentile, D. A., Welk, G. J., Callahan, R., Strickland, S., Walsh, M., & Walsh, D. A. (2008). SWITCH: Rationale, design, and implementation of a community, school, and family-based intervention to modify behaviors related to childhood obesity. BMC Public Health, 8, 223. Avaliable: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/223

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