Watching television more than two hours a day early in life can lead to attention problems later in adolescence, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The roughly 40 percent increase in attention problems among heavy TV viewers was observed in both boys and girls. The link was established by a long-term study of the habits and behaviors of more than 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973.
The children aged 5 to 11 watched an average of 2.05 hours of weekday television. From age 13 to 15, time spent in front of the tube rose to an average of 3.1 hours a day.
"Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence," Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.
Young children who watched a lot of television were more likely to continue the habit as they got older, but even if they did not the damage was done, the report said.
"This suggests that the effects of childhood viewing on attention may be long lasting," Landhuis wrote.
Landhuis offered several possible explanations for the association.
One was that the rapid scene changes common to many TV programs may over stimulate（刺激）the developing brain of a young child, and could make reality seem boring by comparison. "Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work," he wrote.
It was also possible that TV viewing may supplant other activities that promote concentration, such as reading, games, sports and play, he said.
Previous studies have linked the sedentary固定不动的）habit of TV watching among children to obesity and diabetes, and another study in the same journal cited the poor nutritional content of the overwhelming majority of food products advertised on the top-rated US. children's television shows.
Up to 98 percent of the TV ads promoting food products that were directed at children aged 2 through 11 "were high in either fat, sugar, or sodium," wrote Lisa Powell of the University of Illinois in Chicago.
56. The recent survey shows that _________.
A. watching TV can cause all kinds of diseases for children
B. TV sets have played an important part in our daily lives
C. Watching TV over 2 hours a day early in life can cause attention problems later in adolescence
D. watching TV has side effects on children’s future
57. People used to think that _________.
A. watching TV more than 2 hours every day did good to children’s health
B. the sedentary habit of TV watching among children could easily lead to obesity and diabetes
C. the children wasn’t patient with their homework because of watching TV too much
D. it was very important for children to watching TV early in life
58. The underlined word “Hence” means _________.
A. In that case    B. And yet    C. On the contrary    D. For this reason
59. In Landhuis’ opinion, _________.
A. attention problems caused by watching TV during childhood may be hard to get rid of
B. how to develop children’s attention problems is a lasting problem
C. the key of settling attention problems is not watching TV too much
D. there shouldn’t have many food products ads on children's television shows