According to the World Health Organization, children under 5 years old have no or little time on screen



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In a new set of guidelines, the World Health Organization has stated that infants under one year old should not be exposed to electronic screens and that children aged 2 to 4 should not be exposed to electronic screens. have more than an hour of "time spent in front of a sedentary screen".

Limiting, and in some cases eliminating screen time for children under 5 years will result in healthier adults, said the organization, a United Nations health agency, Wednesday .

But removing iPads and other electronic devices is only part of the solution, the researchers said. Children under 5 should also be more physically active and sleep longer to develop better habits to prevent obesity and disease in adolescence and adulthood, the guidelines said.

"Ensuring health for all means doing the best for health right from the beginning of people's lives," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief executive of the WHW, in a statement. "Early childhood is a period of rapid development and a period in which family lifestyles can be adapted to improve health."

Previous generations worrying about the impact of radios and televisions, researchers are studying today the impact of "time spent in front of a screen," which has become a shortcut for time spent interacting with TVs, computers, smartphones, digital tablets and video games. brain development and overall health. However, the data on short- and long-term effects are limited.

The National Institutes of Health funded a $ 300 million project called A.B.C.D. Study (for the cognitive development of the brain in adolescents), which hopes to show how brain development is affected by various experiences, including psychoactive substance use, concussions and screen time. But the study follows children ages 9 to 10 until adulthood, and the data is preliminary.

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In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics) issued guidelines recommending not to spend more time in front of a screen than videoconferencing for children under 18 months. And he recommended that only "high quality programs" be presented to children aged 18 to 24 months and recommended parents and caretakers to watch the program with them. Children aged 2 to 5 should only watch one hour per day of approved emissions.

Dr. David Hill, a pediatrician who led a group that drafted the 2016 A.A.P guidelines, stated that projection media did not have any known benefit for children under 18 months of age. But he added that the technology is evolving faster than the scientific study on the effects of new devices on young brains.

Dr. Hill said the W.H.O. seems to be "applying the precautionary principle and saying," If we do not know it's good, and there's reason to believe it's bad, why do it? "

A.A.P. is starting to consider the next set of guidelines, Dr. Hill said.

"It's certainly possible as we review our recommendations and new data becomes available, so we could skew that direction in the future," he said. "But it's hard to say without a comprehensive literature review, which is the basis of our policy."

The World Health Organization guidelines go beyond the recommendations of the A.A.P.

Dr. Fiona Bull, program manager for the surveillance and prevention of noncommunicable diseases in the OHW population, led a team of experts who developed the guidelines.

"Improving physical activity, reducing sedentary periods and ensuring quality sleep in young children will improve their physical and mental health and well-being and help prevent childhood obesity and illness." associated later in life, "said Dr. Bull in a statement.

The researchers also recommended that children under 5 years old should not be strapped into a stroller or high chair, or tied to the back of the health care provider for more than an hour at a time. And children aged 1 to 5 years old should do three hours of physical activity a day and sleep at least 10 hours a night.

According to WHO, the number of obese people in the world has nearly tripled since 1974. Childhood obesity, once considered a scourge for rich countries, is increasing dramatically in low- and middle-income countries. especially those from Africa and Asia.

The organization said that non-compliance with current recommendations for physical activity is responsible for more than five million deaths worldwide each year, in all age groups.

"What we really need is to bring back play for the kids," Dr. Juana Willumsen, who works on childhood obesity issues at W.H.O., said in a statement. "It's about going from sedentary to recess while protecting sleep."

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