High school kids and television watching are a combination that can lead to long term poor eating habits. TV ads that are targeted to the youth and teen demographic can influence them to make poor dietary choices. A research study published in BioMed Central’s open access International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical on January 30, 2009 found that the amount of the spent viewing TV could predict a poor diet in the future.
Study at University of Minnesota
A study of almost 2,000 grade school and high school students found a link between the amounts of time spent watching television and future. Previous research had established that there was a link between television viewing and diet, but research had not determined how long term the effects were.
The years of grade school and high school are transitional years that are critical to development. Lifelong behaviors are formed during these critical years.
High School Kids Poor Nutrition Five Years Later
Study authors found that high school aged teens who watched more than five hours of TV per day had a low intake of healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium rich foods. These same students had higher intakes of fast food, fried food, snack foods, sugar-sweetened beverages and trans-fats five years later.
The fast food and snack food diet is one that is advertised a lot on television. Even though kids may be aware that these foods are not healthy, they often choose to ignore that reality because the TV stars they see on the advertisements are attractive, slim and healthy looking. If they believe that TV stars and models eat junk food, then they can too.