Feb. 13--TV viewing might be, quite literally, depressing.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Medical School studied viewing habits of then-healthy teens, tracked those subjects into adulthood, and found a statistical correlation between clinical depression in the adult and hours spent watching TV as a teen.
Other forms of media, such as playing computer games and watching videos, didn't have the same effect.
It could be that these young people watched more TV because they already were predisposed to depression. Perhaps TV is a form of escape for teens with incipient, undiagnosed problems. Or perhaps the two events are unlinked but "co-arising."
But researchers say there is at least some circumstantial evidence that TV watching can contribute to depression. They theorize a number of reasons for that:
--Watching extra TV might cut into teens' sleep time, while sleep is especially needed for cognitive and emotional growth at that age.
--TV could substitute for more physically active hobbies. Physical activity has been shown to moderate mild depression.
--The messages from TV shows and commercials -- super-beautiful models and actors, crises that are solved in the space of an hour-long drama -- could stunt teens' self-image and cause problems for them later in life.
Some social critics would also say that the prevalence of violence on TV is dangerous, although not all experts agree on the impact of this.
The study should be no cause for panic -- the data aren't firm enough for that. Rather, it should serve as a reminder of common-sense health habits.
Most of us already know that too much TV is bad for us, teens and adults, in a number of ways -- not the least of which is the contribution of inactivity to rising obesity rates.
Teens and adults should enjoy a variety of activities to stimulate growth in brain and body.
And those activities don't have to be athletic. For instance, reading, although sedentary, stimulates intellectual growth more effectively than most television.
A little television or a good movie can be a fine way to relax from time to time. We all need moments of escapism.
But too much of even a good thing can be too much.
And the Pittsburgh-Harvard study suggests that too much can be not much.
Just one extra hour a day boosts the chances of depression by 8 percent, the study found.
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