Experts drew their findings from an experiment that studied 1,293 students from the 7th grade, analyzed for five years. The subjects were asked to fill out surveys four times throughout the entire period, with the questions mostly centering on tobacco dependence.
According to the study, done by the Canadian Pediatric Society, 60 percent of the studied kids spend about 20 hours a week in front of a screen. Furthermore, 30 percent were found to spend twice as much time watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Internet.
Alarmingly, between seven and 10 percent of the studied children spend a weekly average of 50 hours or more in front of screens.
The numbers greatly exceed the society's recommended screen time for children, which according to the Canadian Press adds up to at most 2 hours a day.
Tracie Barnett, lead author, explained at the recent American Heart Association conference that parents may not be aware of the amount of time their children spend doing these activities.
"I did find it somewhat alarming," she said.
Barnett related these findings as having a relationship with the outbreak of obesity currently plaguing the country.
She added that greater screen time was found with those from low-income families - something that she surmised as a result of their apprehension to step outside due to potential dangers in their neighborhood.
"The take-home message is that we have to find out why some of these don't have healthier alternatives in their neighborhood," said Barnett, according to Forbes.
