TV, teenagers and depression

Watching a lot of television as a teenager could lead to an increased risk of depression in young adulthood according to a study of 4,100 adolescents by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At the start of the study the teenagers were asked how many hours they had spent during the last week watching TV or videos, playing computer games or listening to the radio. Seven years later they were screened for symptoms of depression. For each hour of TV viewed per day the youngsters had a statistically-significant higher risk of developing depression in young adulthood. Given the same amount of media exposure young women were less likely to develop symptoms of depression than young men. The researchers thought that the harmful effects of TV could be due to it taking the place of other more beneficial activities, it reducing the youngster's levels of sleep and the content of the programmes themselves.

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5137GX20090204?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true