If your children are like mine, they like to watch television, play video or computer games, searching the internet and often even spend time listening to iPods or watching videos. This time has been nicknamed "screen time", because it limits the activity level of the child as they look at a "screen". Many people wonder if this excessive time can lead to problems. Studies have shown that as "screen time" increases, so does the childs weight. Childhood obesity has become more of a problem and can lead to many health problems including heart disease, blood pressure problems, diabetes and many others. In fact, childhood obesity has even been related to foot or leg pain.
According to a study in Pediatrics, published in the April 2010 issue, obese children have more leg, foot, and ankle injuries than similarly aged children of a healthy weight. The study, after measuring 23,000 children ages 3 to 14 years old, found that the one in six of whom were considered obese had significantly higher risk of injury to the foot or ankle. This was even taking into account the increased activity level (even in high risk sports) of the healthy weight children.
With this understanding, and the significant risk of systemic health problems, I have continued to encourage my children to remain active. We involve them in more sports, encourage them to spend time outside and even limit the time television or computers can be on during the day. As we facilitate this increased activity, and continue to be careful about the childhood eating habits, the risks of childhood obesity is decreased as is the associated risk for foot pain and foot or ankle injury.
I guess "screen time" really can cause foot pain! For more information, visit our Children's Foot page.
Dr Brandt R Gibson
Moutain West Foot & Ankle Institute
36 North 1100 East, Suite B
American Fork, UT 84003
www.UtahFootDoc.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
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