I'm not a mother yet, but I remember how much I loved watching TV as a child. Luckily, I loved my horse just as much and spent a lot of my days taking care of him instead of sitting in front of the television. Nowadays, wholesome outdoor activities are taking a backseat to video games, computers, and yes, television. As a result, too many kids are growing up overweight.

CNN.com reports that a new study shows overweight children may be more inclined to exercise if their television time depends on it. Researchers found that when parents make television and video games a reward, kids respond by rising to the occasion. About 65 percent of kids in the study increased their exercise, reduced their snacking, and cut their viewing time by two hours a day. This study, which was led by Dr. Gary S. Oldfield at Canada's University of Ottawa, was recently published in the journal of Pediatrics.

The researchers conducted their experiment by choosing 30 random overweight children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old to one of two groups, an intervention group and a control group. The kids in the intervention group earned TV and video game time by exercising. Those in the control group were encouraged to exercise, but were allowed to watch TV whenever they wanted. The children in the intervention group wore monitors that measured their activity levels and their televisions were equipped with a device that kept it from being used unless tokens were inserted. For every hour of exercise the kids completed, they earned one token, which was good for one hour of TV.

Eight weeks later, the kids in the intervention group were getting significantly more exercise, whereas the kids in the control group showed little to no change in their activity levels. Moreover, the kids in the intervention group also spent less time in front of the TV. At the beginning of the study, the kids were watching TV almost three hours a day. By the end of the study, their TV watching had dropped to 45 minutes a day. And kids snacked less when they weren't watching TV, so their overall intake of calories and fat was reduced.

I almost wonder if those devices the researchers put on the TVs will be available to the public anytime soon. It sounds like they might make an excellent incentive for kids and adults to get and stay active!

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