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Too Much Television Spells ADHD?

Published 11 January, 2012 | By The Editor

Article from the Sydney Morning Herald

Every hour a toddler spends watching television each day could increase the risk of attention problems in later childhood, US research suggests.

The more viewing between the ages of one and three, the greater the risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at seven, say University of Washington researchers. For each daily hour, the risk jumps by nearly 10 per cent.

The finding adds to previous research linking television exposure with obesity and violent behaviour, and suggests that it may overstimulate and permanently alter the developing brain.

Researchers led by Dimitri Christakis, a doctor at the Children's Hospital and Regional Centre in Seattle, examined the records of more than 2500 children involved in a long-term health study. About 10 per cent were found to have attention disorders at the age of seven.

The researchers then examined their television habits at one and three years of age, and found that viewing increased the risk of an attention problem by 9 per cent for every hour watched a day.

"Limiting young children's exposure to television as a medium during formative years of brain development . . . may reduce children's subsequent risk of developing ADHD," Dr Christakis writes in the journal Pediatrics.

But more research is required before a direct link can be established, Australian experts said.

Frank Oberklaid, director of the Centre for Community Child Health at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, said the finding was consistent with the message that television should not be used as a "passive babysitter".

"The best thing parents can do is turn the television off and talk to their kids and read to their kids, which is a much more positive activity than watching passive television," Professor Oberklaid said. "TV should not be a substitute for parent-child interaction."

But the president of the Hyperactivity Attention Deficit Association NSW, Julie Appleton, said the finding ignores the high number of people aged in their 50s and 60s, who grew up without television, being diagnosed as ADHD sufferers.

Jane Roberts, president of the media advocacy group Young Media Australia, said parents needed to make sure viewing was appropriate for a child's age.