London - Having a television in their bedroom could make your child put on weight – regardless of how much they actually watch.
A study found that youngsters aged ten to 14 years with a set weighed around 1lb (about 0.45kg) more than those without.
This group also had a higher Body Mass Index (BMI), the score used to assess weight and obesity, which steadily increased over time.
However, the weight gain was unrelated to the amount of time spent viewing, said the US researchers.
They blamed disrupted sleep or possibly greater exposure to food advertising aimed at children.
The report by researchers in New Hampshire called for investigation into the health effects of other electronic media devices, such as tablets and laptop computers, which are growing in popularity.
In the UK, figures for 2013 suggested around half of children had a television in their bedroom, down from 59 percent in 2012.
Nearly half of those aged five to 15 were watching on devices other than a TV, such as a laptop, tablet or mobile phone. This was up from a third.
The latest study used a telephone survey in 2003 of 6 522 boys and girls aged ten to 14 and found that three out of five had a TV in their room. Their weight and BMI were checked two and four years later.
On average, children with a bedroom TV were 0.4 kg – almost 1lb – heavier and had gained 0.5 BMI points in two years and 0.75 in four years.
Researcher Diane Gilbert-Diamond said in the US journal JAMA Pediatrics: “This study suggests removing bedroom televisions may be an important step in the fight against child obesity.” - Daily Mail