Less TV doesn't boost exercise for US kids- study

CHICAGO, Feb 5 (Reuters) Getting children to switch off the television does not guarantee they will exercise more, US researchers said today.

A four-year study of more than 10,000 US children aged 10 to 15 found no correlation between changes in the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities and time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Long hours watching television, playing video games and the like are known to contribute to the obesity epidemic among children and related problems such as diabetes, said the report published in the February issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Not only does TV expose children to unhealthy dietary choices but they tend to snack more while sitting around, it said.

On the other hand, moderate exercise such as biking or walking and vigorous exercise such as playing basketball or jogging keep excess weight off and improve cardiovascular fitness, the report said.

More than 10,000 girls and boys answered annual questionnaires for the study, which found girls spent a mean of nearly 10 hours a week watching television per week and boys nearly 12 hours a week.

Girls were physically active for 12 hours a week and boys for 14 hours.

Each year over the course of the study, girls watched TV about 39 fewer minutes per week and boys about 23 fewer minutes.

Yet at the same time, girls spent 13 fewer minutes per week doing physical activities, while boys spent about the same amount of time.

''Television viewing and physical activity are separate constructs, not functional opposites,'' and choosing one or the other is based on a ''complex series of decision-making mechanisms,'' wrote study author Elsie Taveras of Harvard Medical School in Boston.

''Simply restricting television viewing may not be effective in increasing physical activity,'' it said.

REUTERS AKJ ND0854