Too TV equals early puberty, is this a good or bad thing? Anyway, the excerpt;
Quote:
Television watching may hasten puberty
16:51 28 June 04
NewScientist.com news service
Children who watch a lot of television produce less melatonin, new research suggests - the "sleep hormone" has been linked to timing of puberty.
Scientists at the University of Florence in Italy found that when youngsters were deprived of their TV sets, computers and video games, their melatonin production increased by an average 30 per cent.
“Girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s. One reason is due to their average increase in weight; but another may be due to reduced levels of melatonin,” suggests Roberto Salti, who led the study. “Animal studies have shown that low melatonin levels have an important role in promoting an early onset of puberty.” |
Is it time we reduced our children's TV time? Already we're facing an obesity epidemic amongst the youngster, surely this is another reason to turn off that bot?