HHS HealthBeat (March 27, 2006)

Kids get a screen shot

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers say that kids do what they see – and that includes what they see in the movies.

James Sargent of Dartmouth Medical School checked that when he looked at the movies 10- to 14-year-olds saw, and when they had their first drink. His work in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Sargent says over 90 percent of more than 600 movies reviewed showed alcohol use.

Sargent says kids’ drinking went up with the hours they spent watching movies. About a third of kids who saw the most movies had used alcohol.

"These kids are seeing literally hours of on screen alcohol use. They’re not perceiving it as an alcohol ad, so they’re not skeptical about it." (seven seconds)

Sargent says parents should limit kids’ viewing to one movie per week.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 15 2006