Full Up to Here With Commercials

A 2005 survey of parents commissioned by the Ad Council illustrates how much work there is to be done. Just 21 percent said they limited the calories their children consume; only 37 percent said they knew what serving sizes were appropriate for their children. Only about half described their kids as being physically fit.

Parents also reported struggling with their own habits. Just about a third said that they eat healthy meals -- about the same proportion who reported being physically active.

Yet research clearly shows that children practice what their parents do, not what they preach. Adults who snack on fruit and vegetables or who stay physically active tend to have children who do the same.

That's why David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston, advises parents and children to keep a television log. Place a notebook and pencil next to the TV. Get each family member to record when the set goes on and when it goes off.

"The whole family needs to do this," Ludwig says, "because just monitoring raises consciousness about how much television is being watched."

Also, limit each person to no more than two hours per day, he advises, noting that watching just "one hour daily is better, one half-hour is best."

Not many calories are burned watching TV. In fact, research shows that metabolism actually declines to levels as low as during sleep.

Plus, the flurry of food commercials can help stoke hunger and encourage snacking. In a two-year study of 500 middle-school children, Ludwig found that kids consumed an additional 167 calories for every hour of television they watched.

Nearly all of these extra calories came from soft drinks, french fries, salty snacks, cookies, candy and fast food -- "Precisely the foods that are most heavily advertised on television," Ludwig notes.

So if you and your kids snack while watching television, reach for fruit, carrot sticks, bean dip, salsa and other healthier fare.

And while you're at it, try to get off the couch at least during the commercials. Or consider putting some exercise equipment in the family room near the television.