Nemours Health and Prevention Services Supports National Turnoff Week

Wilmington, Delaware
Monday, April 20, 2009 @ 12:00 AM EDT
by: Nancy D'Argenio

Newark, DE: National Turnoff Week is April 20-26, 2009, a week devoted to unplugging and powering down all the screens in your home. Nemours Health and Prevention Services encourages you to give Turnoff Week a try.

According to Nielson, the average American home has more televisions than family members. A 2007 Center for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey found that in Delaware 39% of youth watch more than three hours of television per day. That compares with the national statistic of 35.4%. Excessive use of screen media, specifically too much TV, is one of the few behaviors with a direct link to childhood obesity.

Turn off the TV and discover what you’ve been missing — one-on-one time with your kids, outdoor activities, family meals, reading, and game nights! If you’d like to try unplugging during Turnoff Week, visit www.makingkidshealthy.org/tv for tips, resources, and more information.

Also included on the website are ways to reduce screen time beyond Turnoff Week, making it easy to follow the "2" in our 5-2-1-Almost None formula for a healthy lifestyle: eat at least five servings for fruit and vegetables every day, spend no more than two hours per day in front of a screen, get at least one hour of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Nemours Health & Prevention Services, a division of Nemours, is a nonprofit organization working with families and community partners to help children grow up healthy. One of its initial areas of emphasis is childhood obesity prevention through the promotion of healthy lifestyles, the centerpiece of which is the 5-2-1-Almost None campaign. Find out more at www.GrowUpHealthy.org.

modified: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 @ 03:17 PM EDT
created: Monday, April 20, 2009 @ 12:18 PM EDT