She Works Out!

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Marc Prensky coined the term “Digital Native” to describe the first generation to grow up with technology. This generation spent their whole life surrounded by media such as computer, videogames, cellphones, digital music players, etc (Prensky cite). As the number of hours of adolescents are exposed to media increases so does childhood obesity rates. This has lead researchers to believe that the more television children watch, the less physical activity they get. Studies have attempted to prove a relationship between these two factors but have yet being able to make a sustainable claim. However, a recent study by Karen Larwin and David Larwin combined these two factors in order to determine what relationship existed. Their study focused on a single subject research study that involved a 14 year old girl earning her television viewing time by working out on a treadmill (Larwin, and Larwin) .The results of this study suggests that the idea of having the youth earn their media usage time via exercise can potentially help decrease childhood obesity rates.

Encouraging a lifestyle change, which advocated for more physical activity less time spent using the Internet and cellphone became the ultimate goal for this study. Researchers for this study wanted the subject to be able to continue exercising after the project ended without needing to be rewarded for it. The study was conducted around a period of seven weeks. The seven weeks were then divided into three different sections. The first section, the baseline stage, lasted for two weeks. The second section, Treatment Phase 1, lasted for two weeks. Finally, the third section, Treatment Phase 2, lasted for three weeks (Larwin, and Larwin). She was strongly recommended to exercise at least five days per week.

For Treatment Phase 1, the subject earned an hour of daily nonschool-related Internet use by walking a mile. If she completed extra miles beyond the one mile requirement then she would earn an additional hour of Internet usage for that day. For Treatment Phase 2, the required mile increased to 1.5 mile in exchange for 1.5 hours of daily phone and/or Internet time. She earned 30 minutes of phone use only a night for any additional half a mile she walked. If she chose not to exercise any one of the five days, she was not allowed any Internet or phone time depending on the phase she was in. However, if she was able to reduce her Body Mass Composition (BMC) by three units during the two treatment phases, then she received $100 from her parents.

During the baseline stage, the subject did not use the Treadclimber at all. She only started using it during Treatment Phase 1. She walked a daily average of .98 miles throughout a 14-day period. In Treatment Phase 2, she exceeded the targeted 1.5-mile requirement. During this 21-day period, she walked a daily average of 1.81 miles. She also increased the speed she walked on the Treadclimber throughout each phase. Luckily for her, she decreased her BMC by 3.2 units meaning that she earned the $100 from her parents.

Throughout the three phases, she decreased her Internet and phone usage. In the baseline stage, she used the Internet for 38.64 minutes and the phone for 63.21 minutes. In Treatment Phase 1, she the Internet usage decrease to 25.07 minutes and the phone usage decreased to 41.71 minutes. Lastly, in Treatment Phase 2, the Internet usage and the phone usage were at a staggering low 10.95 minutes and 31.56 minutes (Larwin, and Larwin).

The subject succeeded in fulfilling both her short-term and long-term goals for this study. She increased the number of miles she needed to walk for the phases. She also took off 3.2 units off her Body Mass Composition all within seven weeks. Five weeks after the study ended, the subject still continued to walk an average 1.5 miles per day on the treadmill. A one-year follow up indicated that she exercised about five days a week and averaged less than 1 hour-a-day of nonschool-related Internet and cell phone usage, compared with more than 1.6 hour-a-day before participation in the study (Larwin, and Larwin)

The results of this study offer an alternative method when it comes to addressing childhood obesity. It provides children with an opportunity to take responsibility for their own level of physical fitness while reducing excessive media use (Larwin, and Larwin). These factors play a crucial role when it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes and promoting better health.

Work Cited

Larwin, Karen H., and David A. Larwin. "ecreasing Excessive Media Usage While Increasing Physical Activity : A Single-Subject Research Study." Behavior Modification. Behavior Modication, 10 June 2008. Web. 28 Mar 2012. <http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/32/6/938>.