Indirect television exposure negatively influences eating behavior in teens

As per the researchers of a new study, direct television exposure is not necessary to negatively influence teens’ behavior or raise body image issues in them, as they can also be influenced indirectly via their friends, who watch lots of television.

While commenting on the study findings, study lead-author Anne Becker vice chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School said in her press statement, "Our findings suggest that social network exposure is not just a minor influence on eating pathology here, but rather, IS the exposure of concern.

"If you are a parent and you are concerned about limiting cultural exposure, it simply isn't going to be enough to switch off the TV. If you are going to think about interventions, it would have to be at a community or peer-based level."

Research findings
To arrive at this conclusion, researchers studied how indirect media content consumption is influencing adolescent girls’ eating habits in Fiji.

While not many households own a television set since its arrival in 1995, but, still it has managed to profoundly affect teens’ behavior in Fiji.

Researchers noted that majority of girls, whose behavior was studied, did not even have a TV set at their homes and yet were at the increased risk of suffering from eating disorders.

This was due to the fact that subject’s friends at school had direct access to television at their homes and they shared whatever they watched. In short, the primary factor that influenced teens behavior turned out to be how many of their friends had direct access to TV.

In the study, girls were asked questions such as whether they are happy with their physical appearance; do they try to control their eating in order to influence their weight, etc.

Disturbing study findings
Researchers concluded in their report that their study findings are scary and worrisome as they had not thought before the start of their project that even limited access can cause harm to this extent.

“It is particularly concerning to see a small scale indigent population undergoing a rapid social change when exposed to a western-produced risk. It's a new hazard to their social environment, to a resource poor country that is already struggling with a high burden of chronic and infectious illnesses,” concluded study authors.