The use of screens has become a normal part of our daily routine. Have you ever thought about how much time you spend in front of a screen in a day? Too much of anything is not a good thing. Watching television keep children sitting still for long periods of time, it also encourages eating unhealthy foods. In addition to the sedentary aspects of TV viewing the TV ads for the most part, promote eating less healthy foods (high in sugar, high in fat, low in nutrients) that Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends we eat less often. Studies have also found that the number of hours of TV viewed each week is directly related with what children ask their parents to buy, what parents actually do buy, and calorie intake.^[ i ]

Each spring, the “TV Turnoff Week Cup” is up for grabs! Schools have the opportunity to compete against each other in order to win. Teachers are encouraged to register their class or entire school for the challenge. Prizes are awarded to the best school and best classes based on creativity of activities and participation.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit challenges Elementary School students and their families to turn off the television for one week this Spring, April 3^rd-9^th 2006, in hopes that everyone will increase their level of physical activity. The rules are simple – no screen use, such as, television, video games or Internet and instead spend this time engaging in physical activity and eating healthy for seven days.

The Health Unit assists teachers to plan for the week by providing them with teachers’ packages including curriculum and activity ideas, healthy eating tips and physical activity tips for limited spaces and other great resources. All resources can be accessed on our website at www.healthunit.org.

The risk of obesity in a preschool child increases by 6% for every hour of television he or she watches per day.  If there is a TV in the child’s bedroom, the risk of being obese is increased by 31%.^[ ii ]  Inactivity increases the risk for a number of chronic diseases later in life, including heart disease, stroke, colon and breast cancer, type II diabetes and osteoporosis.

Active children feel better about themselves, have less anxiety or stress and are also better at problem solving than inactive children. Learning the importance of physical activity at a young age is essential to the development of a life-long healthy lifestyle, as well as the prevention of long-term disease.

The Health Unit understands that there may be certain situations where computer or screen use might be necessary for work or school. Do your best to use it less than normal, making use of different lines of communication whenever possible such as phone, radio and, fax and focus on cutting out recreational use of screens. Good luck!