Press Releases: Northwest
March 29, 2005
Kaiser Permanente challenges Oregon parents to turn off TV and get their kids moving for better health
PORTLAND, Ore. – Lack of exercise and too many hours spent watching TV or staring at a computer are contributing to an epidemic of obesity in Oregon and around the country, especially in children. Recognizing the serious threat to health that this epidemic poses, Kaiser Permanente invites parents around the state to turn off their TV and instead have physically active fun during National TV Turnoff Week the last week in April.
To make it easier to turn off the TV that week, Kaiser Permanente and the Multnomah County Library have scheduled fun family activities including free swim nights, nature walks for preschoolers, board game nights, and bedtime storytelling and sing-alongs in Portland, Aloha, Beaverton, Clackamas, Salem, Vancouver, and Longview, Wash.
"Instead of sitting at the computer or watching television all day, children need to be engaged in healthy physical," says Kaiser Permanente pediatrician Phil Wu, MD, who practices in Tualatin , Ore. "Each extra hour that a child sits and watches TV increases his or her risk of becoming overweight. So we and other local sponsors of TV Turnoff Week encourage families to try a number of healthy alternatives. Having already planned something enjoyable or interesting to do makes the transition away from passive entertainment to healthier activities."
For a listing of free events and more information about the health benefits of limiting or eliminating TV and computer time, Ore. to learn how your family can participate in national TV Turnoff Week, please call Kaiser Permanente at (503) 813-2000 and press 6. Children who participate in this year’s Turnoff can enter to win a gift certificate to G.I. Joe stores.
