The Health Blog by Ryan Healy

TV Moderation Tips

Just came across a brief article that discusses strategies for cutting back on television. It's called "10 Ways to Live TV-Free."

For me, tip #3 ("Don't make it center stage") rang true. One of my goals is to put our TV into an entertainment center or armoire with closing doors. That way the TV won't be visible all the time.

Sometime in the future, it'd also be nice to have the TV in a room that's not highly trafficked. Maybe a room in the basement.

It's my experience that the mere site of television triggers an animal instinct in children. Like a drug, if they see it, they've got to have it. That's why an "out of sight, out of mind" approach works well with TV.

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Starved

I saw a banner ad on Dictionary.com for Starved, a new TV sitcom coming out this fall. Here's what FX Networks has to say:

"Starved, created by Eric Schaeffer, chronicles the lives of four thirty-something friends who reside in Brooklyn and are battling various eating disorders. [...] This adult comedy series is an often poignant take on food addiction, which is the backdrop to the funny, romantic and personal lives of the four characters."

You know a country's got eating issues when TV sitcoms start using food addictions as a backdrop for humor.

You can read more about Starved here.

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New TV Study

If your child is watching eight hours of television per week or more at age three, then chances are great that he or she will be obese by age seven. So reports the British Medical Journal in a new study that was just published today.

When you think about it, eight hours of TV viewing is not difficult for a child to achieve. Two or three animated films in a week plus a "healthy" dose of Saturday morning cartoons and you're basically there.

Track your children's viewing time this week. Are they watching eight hours or more? If so, then you may want to think about cutting back.

Cookie Monster Makeover

Amazing... Cookie Monster has gotten a makeover. Now, in addition to gobbling cookies in a flurry of hands and crumbs, Cookie Monster will also scarf down fruits and vegetables.

Even a new song has been written for Cookie Monster's new image: "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food." The goal of the new song is to help kids understand the role of moderation in diet.

If you're a long-time reader of The Health Blog, you know I'm not a big fan of television. But I am glad to see that Sesame Street is making an effort to influence children to develop healthy habits.

And while I'm on the subject of children's media, let me call your attention to something else I've noticed... That is, children's books are rife with references to sweets and sugary foods.

Stephanie and I have gotten into the habit of taking our two-year-old daughter Annabelle to the library every week or two. We check out about ten different board books each time to keep Annabelle's reading material fresh.

What's been shocking to me is how many books focus on sweets and sugary foods. One that comes to mind is Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick. Another one (which I happen to think is a great book) is Jamberry.

The trouble is that nearly every book we check out reinforces emotional attachment to sweets. Frankly, it's hard enought to get children to eat healthy foods without the contrary influence of television and children's books. With their influence, it's even harder.

So—bravo to Sesame Street for bringing moderation into Cookie Monster's life. And if you happen to write children's books, would you please help us parents out and not write about sweets. Thanks.

TV Turnoff Week

It's not surprising that excessive TV viewing is one of the biggest causes of obesity in America. Not only do we eat poorly, we spend hours in front of the television and hope our excess weight will somehow melt away.

Want to lose weight? Really?

Then give your intentions some traction and turn off your TV. Or, better yet, just get rid of the damn thing.

I admit, I should take my own advice here. My family doesn't watch much TV at all. And I would have ditched our television long ago... except it was a wedding gift from my in-laws.

I'm very appreciative of the gift because Stephanie and I like to watch one or two movies a month. We have self control when it comes to TV.

But now we have a two-year-old daughter and a four-week-old son. We have let my daughter watch cartoon movies (like Finding Nemo and Ice Age) once or twice a week. But even that limited diet is enough to cause my daughter to throw fits when we tell her she can't watch a movie. And, I can imagine, it will only get worse the longer we have the TV around.

A great way to start watching less television (or cut it out altogether) is to participate in the national TV Turnoff Week. It's right around the corner: April 25 - May 1.

If you really want to lose weight, and have the stomach for it, then participate in the TV turnoff. See what kinds of activities you take up to fill your time. And watch how much better family life becomes.

Of course, one week is often not enough to get television out of your system. If you're really serious, try turning the TV off for a month. The changes you observe in your weight and family life could very well shock you... in a positive way.

Do You Cease When Sated?

I read this passage in The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn and thought I'd share it with you.

And yet television does not satisfy, else why would the viewer continue to watch hour after hour, day after day? "The measure of health," wrote the psychiatrist Lawrence Kubie, "is flexibility... and especially the freedom to cease when sated." But heavy television viewers can never be sated with their television experiences. These do not provide the true nourishment that satiation requires, and thus they find that they cannot stop watching. (p. 33)

Besides the obvious fact that television is a major enemy of physical health, I thought I'd quote this passage for another reason: because of the power and truth of Lawrence Kubie's observation.

His statement that, "The measure of health is [...] the freedom to cease when sated," applies not only to television viewing, but a whole host of addictive and habit-forming activities.

Take a look at this list. Are you "enslaved" by any of these things?

1. Television
2. Junk food
3. Pornography
4. Video games
5. Forums and chat rooms
6. Alcohol

Just about everybody is heavily involved in something. But taking something to excess is not necessarily a sign of poor health or addiction. Rather, it's the inability to "cease when sated" that indicates an unhealthy attachment.

If you cannot stop when you'd like... if you feel driven for more, more, more... if you find yourself captive to any thing, activity, or thought... you, my friend, have a problem. And I'd strongly advise you to break the habit, break the addiction, and experience the healthy air of freedom.

Superbowl Budweiser Commercial

Right now I'm watching the Superbowl with my in-laws. One of the Budweiser commercials shows a guy on the dance floor doing hand motions to another guy to indicate he's the designated driver.

While the guy on the dance floor is trying to communicate, the other people mistake his gestures for dance moves and they start to mimic him. The next thing you know, all these people are doing "designated driver" hand motions.

It's certainly not the most memorable commercial, but I got to thinking... you know we're an intellectually deficient nation when we need the makers of beer to sell us on the idea of not drinking and driving.

Are we really that stupid?

I'm with Budweiser on this one. Unfortunately, we're really that stupid.