Screen Time Linked to Long-Term Metabolic Issues, New Study Shows

We have long known that excessive screen time isn’t ideal and that it negatively affects children. Educators and teachers have repeatedly reported that children who are heavily exposed to screens often struggle to concentrate in class. Now, however, research suggests that childhood screen viewing may also affect metabolic development later in life.

In a study recently published in the prestigious journal Pediatrics, researchers examined the hypothesis that screen time during childhood is linked to metabolic syndrome by age 45. The study used parent-reported data from participants born between 1972 and 1973, documenting how many hours they watched television at ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15, and again at age 32.

The researchers found a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome by age 45, identified in 870 of the 997 participants. Indicators included elevated hemoglobin levels, increased waist circumference, high blood pressure, and other metabolic risk factors.

According to the researchers, the findings were consistent for both men and women. A clear association was also identified between childhood television viewing and poorer cardiovascular fitness and higher BMI at age 45. “There is no doubt,” the researchers concluded, “that reducing screen time during childhood and early adolescence can lessen negative health outcomes later in life.”