Couch potatoes storing up problems for later life

More time spent watching television as a child correlates to a less healthy diet later in life and may be related to advertising for fast foods and nutritionally poor snacks.

The study, in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, followed up on research that shows that television viewing is linked with a poor diet. These researchers looked at the link between television viewing and diet five years later.

They looked at 564 middle school students and 1366 high school students, categorising them as low, moderate and heavy television viewers. Among the older students, heavy television viewing was related to a lower intake of fruit and vegetables and a higher intake of fried food, fast food menu items and sweetened drinks five years later.

All these items are commonly advertised on television. The conclusion was that television viewing had a major influence on food choices among school children, which was carried through to later life.