Spending too much time in front of television, DVDs and computer games is taking its toll on children's physical and mental health, according to a government-commissioned report published on Wednesday.

  Public Health England says there is evidence that children who spend more time watching screens tend to have higher levels of emotional distress, anxiety and depression.

  The agency, which is using the data as the basis of a campaign to encourage families to adopt healthier behaviour, claims over 70% of young people did not undertake the recommended daily hour of physical activity.

  The research echoes concerns raised by doctors last week that children's lack of exercise was leading to more unhealthy lifestyles. A third of 11-year-olds are now either overweight or obese.

  The proportion of young people with a low estimation of their own wellbeing almost doubles from 14% to 24% between 11 and 15, according to the independent NatCen Social Research organisation, which presented new analysis of a broad set of data for the Department of Health.

  Young people who spent less than one hour a day playing computer games were almost three times more likely to say they enjoyed good wellbeing as those who played four hours or more, according to the research.

  Similarly those who shared an evening meal with their family on at least six days a week were more likely to be happy about their circumstances.

  Government health leaders are using such evidence, only the latest in a growing library, to bolster their message that more physical activity will make children more likely to concentrate in school, enjoy better relationships with classmates and be less worried, anxious or depressed.

  The latest report uses data from the Millenium Cohort study of children born in 2000 by the Institute of Education in London, and the UK Household Longitudinal Study, led by Essex University. It was commissioned by the Department of Health in England to inform public health policy and help its executive agency Public Health England (PHE)and local councils deliver the Change4Life programme, a key element in official attempts to "nudge" rather than dictate behavioural change in the population.

  Other evidence being cited by the PHE includes a recent Unicef report which put the UK 16th among 29 of the world's richest countries for children's wellbeing.

  It said 62% of 11-year-olds, 71% of 13-year-olds and 68% of 15-year-olds reported watching more than two hours TV every weekday, compared with Switzerland where the figure was less than 35% across all three age groups. In England, the proportion of young people playing computer games for two hours or more a night increased from 42% to 55% among boys and 14% to 20% among girls between 2006 and 2010, said the WHO's survey on health behaviour in school-aged children.


  英国卫生部下属机构——英国公共卫生日前发布研究报告称，看电视、碟片，以及玩电脑游戏时间过长会影响儿童的身心健康。有证据表明，长时间“盯屏幕”的孩子出现情绪沮丧、焦虑和抑郁等状况的几率更高。此前已有医生指出，儿童缺乏锻炼会导致更多不健康的生活方式，目前英国11岁的儿童中有三分之一为超重或肥胖。研究发现，每天玩电脑游戏时间在一小时以内的孩子幸福感是每天玩游戏四小时以上孩子的三倍。卫生部意在通过这一系列研究证据让人们知道，参加体育活动会让孩子学习时注意力更集中，与同学关系更融洽，同时减少忧虑、抑郁等状况的出现。

  该报告还引述联合国儿童基金会近期发布的一份报告称，全球29个富裕国家中，英国儿童的健康状况排名第16位。报告指出，英国11岁、13岁和15岁的青少年每个工作日看电视时间超过2小时的比例分别为62%、71%和68%；而瑞士三个年龄段青少年的这一比例均低于35%。