Reducing Excessive Television Viewing While Increasing Physical Activity

One family participated in a study evaluating the effectiveness of a product aimed at reducing television viewing by providing television viewing time in exchange for bicycle riding. The device, called Control-the-TV, is comprised of a control box which attaches to the electrical cord of a television set, and two sensors which attach to the wheel and corresponding wheel rim of a stationary bicycle. It has a locking device, accessible only by a key, which secures the control box from tampering. The child in this study was required to ride the bicycle for 15 minutes to earn 30 minutes of television viewing time. The parents were instructed to record the total number of hours of TV viewed by the target child during an initial 20 day baseline and a 30 day intervention period. Results suggest that Control-the-TV can be effective in reducing time spent viewing television.