• Those children who are less active with four years and are more attached to the television show a higher risk of being overweight, obese and metabolic syndrome when they turn seven
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Watching television is, according to a study led by the Institute of Global Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal), the habit that most influences the development of overweight and obesity during childhood .

The research, which has just published the journal 'Pediatric Obesity', has been prepared after analyzing the data of 1,480 children from Sabadell (Barcelona), Guipúzcoa and Valencia , participants in the INMA project (Children and Environment), a research network Spanish who studies the role of pollutants during pregnancy and their effects on childhood.

To reach this conclusion, the experts of the ISGlobal, a center promoted by La Caixa, evaluated five lifestyle habits : physical activity, hours of sleep, television consumption, vegetable intake and intake of ultraprocessed foods.

When the children under study were four years old , they asked mothers and fathers to provide details about their children's habits through questionnaires. To measure the impact that these customs had on their health, they calculated the body mass index (BMI), waist diameter and blood pressure of each participant at that time and at the age of seven .

"Most studies so far have focused on the impact that these habits have separately, without assessing the cumulative effects ," said Martine Vrijheid, a researcher in the ISGlobal Childhood and Environment program.

"We know that unhealthy behaviors tend to coexist and interrelate with each other and that is why we have examined them together," he added.

According to the report, those children who are less active at four years and are more attached to the television show a higher risk of being overweight, obese and metabolic syndrome when they turn seven.

The researchers also took into account the time dedicated to other sedentary activities , such as reading, painting or doing puzzles and concluded that they do not seem to influence the appearance of overweight or obesity .

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" When they watch television, children see many advertisements of unhealthy food . This can lead to the consumption of these foods," said Dora Romaguera, an ISGlobal researcher.

Ultraprocessed products, such as pastries, sugary drinks or refined cereals, are rich in sugars, salt and saturated fats, but their nutritional intake is very low, and, according to this research, high consumption of these foods at four years is related to a higher BMI at seven.

In addition, being in front of the screen " discourages them from practicing physical activity and interrupts their sleep time, " added Silvia Fernández, a postdoctoral researcher at ISGlobal. Researchers have stressed that adequate sleep time in early childhood is crucial to control weight later.

"According to previous studies, 45% of children do not sleep the recommended hours per day. (Between 9 and 12, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)). This is worrisome because lack of sleep in childhood is related to obesity, "said Fernández.

"Identifying habits that encourage overweight and obesity in childhood can help us define preventive strategies that prevent the appearance of other cardiovascular and metabolic conditions in adult life ," concluded Rowaedh A. Bawaked, also author of the study and researcher at the Hospital Institute of the Sea of ​​Medical Research (IMIM).

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