Motivating Couch Potato Kids
An interesting new device could help pry our nation's littlest couch potatoes off the sofa. It's an exercise bike that's hooked up to a television set. In order for kids to turn on the tube, they've got to pedal the cycle.
Psychologist Myles Faith, a researcher at the St. Luke's Roosevelt Obesity Center and a co-author of a study that looked at the effectiveness of the TV cycle, shares his findings on CBS News This Morning.
According to the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study, 13 percent of U.S. youngsters ages 6 to 17 are overweight. Pediatricians and childhood obesity experts have long believed that lack of exercise is a major contributing factor to this generation's bulging waist lines.
TV viewing and computer use have replaced much of the outdoor play and sports activities that kept kids moving in the past, and the results are clearly showing up on the scales. If it's not addressed properly, childhood obesity can easily become a life long battle with weight.
Psychologist Myles Faith says the big issue addressed by this study is how we can change the environment to stimulate a change in behavior. The study found that by linking TV viewing to bike riding you can promote either more physical activity or less TV viewing, or both.
How did the study work?
"We had two groups. First, there were six kids who had the bike in their home electronically hooked up to the TV. If they wanted to watch TV they had to pedal.
The other group we gave an exercise bike that wasn't connected to the TV. They could bike and/or watch TV independently of each other.
What we found was that [the group that had to pedal to view] increased their pedaling dramatically and decreased TV viewing. They were, on average during a week, watching about an hour and a half of TV, while children in the other group, where there wasn't a hookup, were watching 20 hours a week."
Are there lessons you can take from the study that parents could use with their overweight kids?
"I think the important point for parents to think about is, how can I as a parent change my household environment in little ways to increase activity and reduce fat intake? If there is a choice between taking the escalator or going up the stairs, maybe taking the stairs."
Is it important for kids to address the weight problem while they're kids?
"Yes, children are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off over a long term, more so than adults. It might be a good time to intervene."
The TV bicycle sounds ingenuous, but it isn't available to the public. What are some other tools that can help young people lose weight?
"The first way is to look at ways to reduce total calories. But specifically in terms of physical activity I would say that parents need to look at overall life approach. Ask yourself, what are specific choices I can make differently, perhaps on the weekends take a fmily walk instead of watching TV together."
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