New research gives us another reason to get our kids active this summer. The August issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine highlights a study linking sedentary behavior and high blood pressure in kids ages three to eight.  The interesting factor in this study was identifying kids’ screen time as the high blood pressure culprit.  Kids who watched the most TV, and in this study the average was only 1.5 hours, were the kids whose blood pressure was the highest.

TV and other screen time is an activity parents can do something about. Get your kids off the couch and on the path to healthy lifestyles.  Make screen time the “once in a while” activity this summer, not the main show.  I know it’s the hot month of  August and sometimes we just run out of ideas. See our  National Institute on Media and the Family parent guide, Make It a MediaWise® Summer for tips that can  help right now.  Also check out our Switch™ - active lifestyles from MediaWise program, an active and fun way for families, schools and communties to get on the road to healthy lifestyles.

Researchers have linked obesity to screen time for years.  This study is a warning that  health problems can happen to any child who is a watcher instead of a doer.

How do you get your kids up and about during the summer?

-Dr. Dave