Abstract
This article examines the potential health effects of television. A survey of 1035 Flemish 17- and 18-year-olds shows that eating snacks and drinking regularly accompany viewing. Television was also shown to influence sleeping and family meals. Heavy viewers did not, however, appear to be more passive than lighter viewers. Their indulgence in sports did not differ, but content-specific relationships with going out appear to exist. In this group no link between viewing and obesity was found, but viewing was significantly related to various aspects of people's self assessments regarding their weight, their ideal weight and their looks. Particular attention was given to those television programs that portray “idealized bodies.” Generally, a distinction was made between men and women because many body-, weight-, and health-related factors may be culture and gender specific.
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Van den Bulck, J. Is Television Bad for Your Health? Behavior and Body Image of the Adolescent “Couch Potato”. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29, 273–288 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005102523848
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005102523848