A new study published by Lancet Child and Adolescent Health found that excessive screen time has a negative and long-term impact on toddlers, reports USA Today.
Previous studies have focused on the impact of screen time on elementary-aged children and teenagers. Toddlers have rarely been included, according to USA Today.
The study was conducted by researchers at the National University of Singapore, USA Today reports. The researchers surveyed the parents of 500 toddlers about their child’s screen viewing habits, and had the children wear an activity tracker for a week at the age of five.
Researchers found that children who had spent more time in front of screens between the ages of 2-3 years old spent significantly less time exercising and engaging in physical play years later.
According to USA Today:
“On average, researchers found children in the study spent 2.5 hours a day on screens, with television occupying the longest viewing time. A third of screen time was on handheld devices. Only a few children spent less than an hour in front of a screen.
“Children who spent more than three hours in front of a screen spent a half-hour less doing light physical activity and 10 minutes less doing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).”
Few children in the study were getting the recommended amount of screen time, which is an hour or less per day, according to the World Health Organization. Instead, the average toddler was spending 2.5 hours a day viewing a screen, according to a press release from The Lancet.
Though the most common screen was the television, one-third of the surveyed screen time was on handheld devices like tablets or phones, USA Today reports.
“This analysis addresses an important research gap and strengthens existing evidence linking screen viewing time with later child health,” Boshi Chen, one of the study’s authors said in The Lancet press release. “Our findings support public health efforts to reduce screen viewing time in young children.”