Too much time on the screen, bad for kids

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first-ever advice on the time young children should spend using electronic devices with screens.

The WHO announced on Wednesday that children under five should not spend more than an hour a day watching such devices. According to officials, less of it is better, and children under one year old should not at all spend the same time on the screen.

"What we are warn These screen times are used too much with young children, "Fiona Bull, a WHO expert, told the press.

The new guidelines somewhat resemble the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This group recommended Children under 18 months must avoid screens other than videoconferencing on the Internet. Parents of children under the age of two should choose "high quality programming" with educational value. Boys and girls should be able to watch the show with a parent and understand what they see.

According to the guidelines, children under five should also be physically active and get enough sleep to develop good behaviors throughout their lives. This will help prevent diseases later in life.

"In this age group of less than 5 years, there are currently 40 million overweight children in the world. Of this figure, 50% is in Africa and in the South East Asia region, "Bull said. According to the Reuters news agency, this number represents 5.9% of all children in the world.

Early childhood is a period of rapid physical and mental development in which behaviors are formed and ways of doing things can be changed, noted the WHO. Its recommendations come from hundreds of studies conducted in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United States.

"sedentary behaviors, that it is motorized transport rather than walking or cycling, sitting at a desk at school, watching TV or playing inactive screen games "are becoming more common," said the WHO. "He added that these behaviors were related to bad behavior. health

Some groups stated that the WHO screen time guidelines did not take into account the advantages electronic media.

Andrew Przybylski is Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute of Oxford University. He told The Associated Press that the WHO's screen time tips were too much about the amount of screen time. He said that he did not take into account the quality of the material being looked at or the way it was used.

"Not all screen times are created equal," Przybylski said.

The Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health of Britain said that the study The data available was too weak to allow its experts to define the most appropriate measure for the time spent on the screen.

Max Davie is responsible for improving college health. He told AP that the screen time limits suggested by the WHO did not seem like proportionate to the possible harm done.

The WHO did not give much details about the possible damage caused by too long screen time. But the guidelines noted that lack of sleep in children was linked to an increase in the amount of extra fat measured by body mass index.

The reduction of sleep periods was linked to the need to spend more time watching television and playing computer games, he added.

I am Dorothy Gundy.

Pete Musto adapted this story for VOA Learning English with the help of materials provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the publisher.

We want your news. What health effects do you think come from too much screen time? Let us know in the "Comments" section.

Words in this story

screen(s) – not. the part of a TV, a computer or another device that you watch when you use it

caution(ing) – v. warn or inform someone of a danger or possible problem

recommend(s) – v. suggest that someone does something

sedentary – adj. do or involve a lot of sit down

cycling – not. ride a bike

advantage(s) – not. a useful or useful result or effect

proportionate – adj. have a size, number, or amount that is directly related to or best suited to something

body mass index – not. a measurement that shows how much fat in your body is based on your weight and size