Is there a link between Television and Obesity?By Jack Murphy September 21st 2011

Every year 7.5 million televisions are sold every year, with and average of 3 per household the rate is coincided with an increase in human obesity. Due to the mass increase in sales of Televisions and modern lifestyles obesity has arisen to be a major concern.

But it’s not just the watching T.V anymore it’s the way in which we can watch it. In the last 5 years a series of new inventions. Such examples as the PS3 or Xbox 360 in which you can play games for hours as the time goes bye, and although in recent years the Nintendo wii and Xbox connect have spent millions developing ways in which to make the gaming media healthier it is still in its infancy has failed to make an impact. Other devices such as the Iphone, the Nintendo DS or the PSP has made the industry portable so where ever you are you can indulge in what ever is available.

However the most modern and inexpensive way is the computer which is able to stream movies, music and tv shows without taking any time at all. Another key issue is the rise of the fast-food industry, in the last 5 years we have also seen a drastic increase in the amount of fast-food shops, key amongst these is the McDonalds empire which has gone international opting for these fattening delights rather than healthier substitutes like a salad.

In 2006 the NHS reported that 24% of adults aged of 16 were obese compared to a study taken in 1993 in which only 9% were obese, that is a 15% increase in the last 13 years which is due to a lack of exercise because of work and a poor diet.

Another NHS report from 2006 has revealed a 5% increase in child obesity from 1995 to 2006 this reason for this is the government has implicated compulsory Physical activities into schools which has had a slight impact on the statistics however it hasn’t stopped the increase in obesity. However another study also showed a decrease in female obesity between 2006 and 2005 from 18% to 15%.

So conclusively we can see from evidence shown that obesity is increasing due to the unhealthy lifestyle being led by a large proportion of British citizens and that fast food are watching television are the direct reason why people are becoming obese. However now that the media is becoming portable there is a chance that obesity will decrease due to the fact that the standard television will be replaced by a laptop or an iphone. But will this make a difference?