Proof too much TV leads to poorer GCSE results
TEENAGERS who spend too much time watching TV or playing computer games achieve lower exam grades, a study shows.
The typical 14- year- old pupil, during the first year of a GCSE course, spends about four hours a day in front of a screen.
Those spend an hour more than that scored 9.3 fewer GCSE points – the equivalent of going down two grades, for example from a B to a D.
Youngsters watching two extra hours got 18 fewer points.
Those pupils spending an extra hour doing homework or reading got on average 23.1 more GCSE points.
Dr Kirsten Corder, of Cambridge University’s centre for diet and activity research, said: “Spending more time in front of a screen appears to be linked to a poorer performance at GCSE.
“We only measured this behaviour in Year 10.
“But this is likely to be a reliable snapshot of participants’ usual behaviour, so we can reasonably suggest that screen time may be damag- ing to a teenager’s grades. Further research will be needed to confirm this effect conclusively.
“But parents who are concerned about their child’s GCSE grade might consider limiting his or her screen time.”
The study, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, also looked at levels of exercise and sedentary time and its impact on exam results.
It involved 845 secondary school pupils in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk whose levels of activity and sedentary behaviour aged 14 and a half was measured through a combination of heart rate and movement sensing.
The pupils recorded how long they spent watching TV, using the internet and playing computer games, and the time spent doing homework and reading for pleasure.
This information was then compared to their GCSE performance.
Even if participants had done a lot of reading and homework, watching TV or online activity still damaged academic performance.
As well as looking at total screen time, the researchers analysed time spent in different screen activities.
Although watching TV, playing computer games or being online were all associated with poorer grades, TV viewing was found to be the most detrimental.
However, the researchers found no significant link between moderate to vigorous physical activity and improved academic performance – which contradicts another recent study.