by Veronika Chatelain
Two decades ago, scientists led the population to believe that by the 21st century flying cars would be hovering our skies while walking robots cleaned our homes. The population was obviously misled, and although we are not sky-racing or having robots do our dirty work, we do have colored flat-screen T.V’s. And everything that has an upside always has a downside.
Recent studies have shown that T.V is linked to Asthma. Sounds unbelievable? On March 3rd 2009, BBC News announced to its viewers; that a study which took place in the U.K found that “young children who spend more than two hours a day watching TV double their risk of developing Asthma…”Here in the U.S an article on FoxNews.com stated that “...children who watched television for more than two hours daily were almost twice as likely to have been diagnosed with the condition [Asthma] as those who watched less…”
Asthma is defined as “a respiratory condition marked by spasms in the bronchi of the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing.” Which means that everyday activities such as running, or playing specific sports would be more difficult for the average child.
Lets face it; T.V has become part of our everyday lives. We have learned to depend on it for news, entertainment and education and much more. So how can something so popular, be cut out of our lives for a safer health? Studies report that after hearing Asthma is linked to “too much T.V”, parents have reduced their children’s T.V-time from two hours a day to one hour a day. In addition to that, some parents have found alternatives to television, such as “outdoor activities, and board games.”
Even though there has been scientific research and experimenting involved; there are still those who find it hard to believe. Technology has been linked to all sorts of diseases. In late 2000, there were reports that “electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by power lines, cell phones, wireless computers and other devices were the cause of certain cancers.” A more recent study done by naturalnews.com, reported, “microwaved foods were a source of lung cancer.”
It is true “you can not believe everything that you read into.” The scientific world has made breaking studies, some believable and some not so believable. One thing that is for sure is that the study, which originally linked T.V to Asthma, has been published in the Thorax Journal (an international journal of respiratory medicines and diseases). The Thorax Journal has followed the health of over 3,000 U.K children in this T.V-Asthma study, from birth to age 11. By the age of 11, 185 children or 6% developed Asthma; while the rest of the children developed it later on, and most of them did not develop it at all.
Was it the scientific study that caused that 6% to develop Asthma? Or was it just a coincidence that all 185 children developed asthma at the age of 11? It’s a case of Logic versus science. One thing is for certain…too much T.V is never good for ones health.
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