Children who spend more than two hours a day playing video games or watching TV could be putting themselves at greater risk of psychological problems.
That's according to a new report in medical journal Pediatrics - which found that the effect rung true regardless of how active children were in the rest of their day.
The study was based on research of 1,000 children aged between ten and 11, measuring the time they spent in front of a screen as well as their psychological well-being.
The children filled out a questionnaire, reporting how much time they spent daily in front of a television or computer.
They then answered questions describing their mental state - including emotional, behavioural, and peer-related problems. Meanwhile, an accelerometer measured their physical activity.
The researchers founds that children in the study who spent more time sedentary had better psychological scores overall.
"Watching TV or playing computer games for more than two hours a day is related to greater psychological difficulties irrespective of how active children are," said lead author Dr Angie Page from the University of Bristol's Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, said.
The researchers also found that sedentary time itself was not related to mental well-being - just screen time.
However, according to Reuters, Page and her team acknowledge several limitations in their study - including the potential for children to inaccurately recall his or her activities when filling out the questionnaire.
Dr. Thomas N. Robinson of the Stanford University School of Medicine - who was not involved in the study - doubted that the research proved a cause-and-effect link.
"They would have needed to do an experiment, a randomized controlled trial, to see whether limiting television or computer time improves psychological difficulties when compared to a control group that does not limit screen time," he told Reuters.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=268923Well, that was conclusive
