Limit screen time among kids, experts caution
By American Heart Association News
Jamie Cole knows her 9-year-old’s lifestyle is unusual. 许多她这个年龄的孩子经常使用智能手机、平板电脑或看电视. 她的女儿凯利(Kelly)更喜欢在户外玩耍、读平装书和骑马.
Kelly’s device-free habits are by design. 科尔说，她和她的丈夫都是老师，他们已经限制了女儿接触屏幕的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽，因为他们亲眼看到了屏幕线上电子游戏飞禽走兽的影响:一些学生的成绩变差，身体健康状况变差.
“在过去的一年里，我教了三年级和四年级的小学生篮球, and I was amazed at how tired the kids got,” the 34-year-old from Comanche, Texas, said. “我们只是在训练前勉强跑了一会儿，他们就都跑了, ‘Oh my gosh, do we have to?’”
研究久坐习惯与儿童和青少年心血管风险的研究人员也有同样的担忧.
A scientific statement(link opens in new window) published Monday by the American Heart Association says smartphones, tablets, 电视和其他屏幕设备让孩子们更久坐不动，而久坐的行为与年轻人的超重和肥胖有关.
Tracie A. Barnett, 他是蒙特利尔quimuise大学儿童肥胖和久坐行为方面的专家, chaired the committee that wrote the report.
“毫无疑问，屏幕正在消耗孩子们越来越多的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽和注意力，”她说.
As TV viewing among kids has dropped over the past two decades, newer devices have resulted in more screen time overall, according to the report.
According to a recent analysis from the nonprofit Common Sense Media, 5到8岁的孩子每天花近三个小时看电视和使用智能手机, tablets or other devices. A 2017 Nielsen survey of more than 4,大约1 / 5的10岁孩子拥有自己的智能手机.
屏幕线上电子游戏飞禽走兽过长与睡眠质量差、阅读和社交能力差有关. 研究也开始将看屏幕的习惯与某些健康问题联系起来.
A 2014 study showed that teenagers who spent more time watching TV, 年轻人玩电子游戏或玩电脑更容易肥胖和患代谢综合征——这是一组增加患心脏病和中风风险的疾病. Other research, however, 目前还没有发现儿童久坐行为与其他心血管疾病风险因素(如高血压或高胆固醇)之间的具体联系.
但可以确定的是，久坐行为导致了美国儿童的肥胖. 20世纪80年代末和90年代初，2至19岁青少年的肥胖率为10%，而现在已升至18%.5 percent in 2016, according to federal data.
Meanwhile, 这个游戏的名字是预防——父母在为孩子树立健康习惯方面起着关键作用, said Dr. Goutham Rao, 美国心脏协会报告的合著者，克利夫兰医学中心大学医院家庭医学系主任. Keeping children off their cherished devices is no easy task, but parents must have rules and enforce limits, Rao said.
“Kids will find something to do if you say ‘no TV.’ Most of the time, whatever [the other activity] is, is going to me much healthier than watching TV,” he said.
美国儿科学会(American Academy of Pediatrics)建议，2至5岁的儿童每天看屏幕的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽限制在一小时以内, 对大一点的孩子看屏幕的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽和地点有一致的限制. Rao and Barnett, parents themselves, 建议父母让孩子参与制定家庭可以遵守的屏幕线上电子游戏飞禽走兽规则.
For example, they strongly recommend keeping smartphones, tablets and TVs out of bedrooms, and no electronics at the dinner table. And find other things to do as a family – cook a meal together, play a board game or take a walk around the neighborhood.
Cole, the mom from Texas, 她说，她和丈夫计划等到凯莉16岁时给她买一部智能手机. 当凯利的朋友们来访时，屏幕线上电子游戏飞禽走兽规则仍然适用.
“They play board games, and they think that’s so cool,” she said.
Jamie Cole with her daughter, Kelly. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Cole)
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