IT HAS been blamed for a multitude of sins, from turning us into couch potatoes to corrupting our morals. Now, television is in the dock for allegedly triggering premature puberty.
This time, it is the light from the TV set, not the programmes themselves, that is the supposed problem. Extra exposure to light lowers production of melatonin, a hormone believed to hold back puberty, says Roberti Salti of the University of Florence in Italy. His team found levels rose on average by 30 per cent in children denied access to television for a week.
But not everyone is convinced. 鈥淭here鈥檚 very limited evidence published that melatonin is a major factor in regulating puberty in humans,鈥� says Paul Kaplowitz at the Children鈥檚 National Medical Center in Washington DC.
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Another complicating factor is the possibility that extra exercise accounts for the rise in melatonin levels. 鈥淏eing active would in itself delay puberty,鈥� says Marcia Herman-Giddens of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who first published evidence that puberty is occurring earlier.