Teenagers in Bahrain watch television an average of four hours a day, according to a new research.

The author of the report said he was 'embarrassed' to discover that some watched television as much as seven hours a day.

Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research (BCSR) assistant general secretary for scientific research and organising committee head Dr Abdulrahman Musaigar described the situation as 'critical'.

'Children watch television from one to seven hours (a day) and the average is four hours a day,' he said.

He warned that children who watched too much television were more at risk of becoming obese than those who took part in sports.

The study surveyed 254 Bahraini mothers, aged 20 to 50, and found that 22 per cent of their children had a television in their bedrooms.

The study showed that 48 per cent mothers watched their children constantly, while 45 per cent did occasionally and seven per cent mothers never did, said Dr Musaigar.

In terms of television viewing, it found that 59 per cent mothers tried to explain immoral or unacceptable programmes shown on television, while 36 per cent explained occasionally and five per cent didn't explain it at all.

'Forty-nine per cent mothers interfered with what their children watched, while 37 per cent did occasionally and 14 per cent mothers did not,' he added.

The study also showed that 49 per cent mothers prevented them from watching certain channels, while 44 per cent did it occasionally.

The study showed that most mothers prevented their children from watching violent and immoral programmes.

Teenagers mostly watched animation programmes (90 per cent), Arabic series (53 per cent), car races (28 per cent) and educational programmes (29 per cent).

It found that 47 per cent mothers allowed their children to watch television until 9pm, 14 per cent mothers allowed them to watch television until 10pm and the rest allowed children to watch it until late night.

Only 19 per cent of women's husbands sat with their children while watching television, while 68 per cent did occasionally and 12 per cent didn't do at all.

Dr Musaigar urged parents to involve their children more in sports and extracurricular activities.

He said this would have a direct impact on the numbers of children suffering from obesity and weight problems, which could lead to serious illnesses later in life such as diabetes and heart disease.

'Teenagers who watch television are more prone to having health problems and tend to socialise less,' he added. TradeArabia News Service