Be Healthy, Turn Off TV, Health Official Suggests

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma state health commissioner Mike Crutcher is urging Oklahomans to turn off the television and be more creative to improve their health.<br/><br/>Crutcher says Oklahomans should

Saturday, April 14th 2007, 10:11 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma state health commissioner Mike Crutcher is urging Oklahomans to turn off the television and be more creative to improve their health.

Crutcher says Oklahomans should make plans now to take part in "National TV-Turnoff Week," which will be April 23rd through 29th.

He says that the week will provide an extended break from TV screens that consume so much free time.

Crutcher says that instead of watching TV Oklahomans should read, be more physically active, converse, think, create and do.

The Center for Screen-Time Awareness says American children watch more than four hours of television each day, spending more time over the course of the year watching the tube than they spend in the classroom.

The center says one in four children under the age of two have televisions in their bedrooms.

Officials say excessive television viewing is associated with obesity, which leads to other health problems.