After a three-year study at a cost of nearly $2 million, the 1972 Surgeon General's report on television was released. Titled "Television and Social Behavior," the report concluded there was a definite link between aggressive behavior in children and the violent acts they witnessed on TV. The report, however, raised a great deal of controversy at the time over perceived problems with both its conclusions and its research methodology, especially when it was revealed that the report was written before all the research had concluded.
In 1975, Dr. Michael Rothenberg published a study on television violence in the "Journal of the American Medical Association." Rothenberg cited 146 articles in behavioral science journals that referenced 50 studies involving 10,000 children from various backgrounds, all of which demonstrated that watching violence on television will increase aggressive behavior in children. Rothenberg addressed four major issues involving television: effects on learning, emotional effects, emotional catharsis and effects on aggressive behavior. Rothenberg felt strongly that violence on television should be outlawed, writing, "The time is long past due for a major, organized cry of protest from the medical profession in relation to what, in political terms, I consider a national scandal."
According to a 13-year-long study undertaken in the Canadian province of Quebec, children who watch an excessive amount of television may become obese and have poor grades later in life. The study tracked the progress of a number of children, beginning when they were 2. Over the years, researchers found that the more television children watched, the worse they were at mathematics. The study also found a correlation between television viewing and the consumption of junk food.
The American Academy of Pediatrics takes a hard line on television and recommends that children under the age of 2 should not be exposed to any television whatsoever. Furthermore, the AAP recommends that children over 2 be limited to "quality programming" and watch no more than two hours per day. The reason for this has to do with brain development during infancy. According to the AAP, the first two years are a critical time in a child's life, and media such as television, computers and video games can impede a child's normal development in terms of exploration, play and social interactions.