Reduce your chance of becoming obese and over weight by removing the TV set from your bedroom

                                                                     By: Ashley Contreras

The average U.S adult watches TV an average of 5 hours per day, this behavior has become very prevalent in the sedentary lifestyle that most Americans adapt to. Sedentary lifestyles of Americans have contributed to the increase of obesity across the country.  Obesity is a state in which a person is well above their normal healthy body weight, depending on their age, height, gender, and build. Clinicians more accurately state the meaning is a person with a BMI (body mass index) above 30. Obesity is a condition that should not be taken lightly due to its enormous health risk associated with this condition such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Most Americans have a television in their bedroom which causes them to have shorter sleep durations which leads Americans especially children to become over weight. Since TV viewing contributes to the sedentary lifestyle and the sedentary lifestyle contributes to the prevalence of obesity, removing the television from the bedroom could in fact decrease the amount of obese and overweight adults in America.

TV viewing has become more than just a pastime it is also a form of bonding among families and friends. The increase of importance TV viewing is lowering the amount of people taking part in other more active activities. After a long day of working the average American likes to relax and unwind in front of a TV set usually located in their bedroom.  Studies show that those who have a TV set in their bedroom watches more TV than those who do not. By watching more TV during the night and shortening the sleep duration has been shown to increase one’s chances of becoming overweight.

 

Most Americans do not view the many dangers that are associated with being overweight and the problems they will cause their children if they continue to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle. By simply removing the TV set from the bedroom could eliminate some risks of becoming obese. By eliminating or reducing the amount of TV time will in turn cause an increase in energy expenditure in obese and overweight adults. People that remove their television from their bedroom have shown to decrease their time watching TV overall. This is a start to a better choices and life styles.