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The TV bike: A cure for child obesity or excuse for lazy parents?
Last updated at 08:52am on 09.07.07Once upon a time parents would take their children to the park when they wanted to ride their bike.
But these days many mothers and fathers are too busy to tear their children away from the television and leave the house.
Now toy-makers have responded to this trend - by bringing out an exercise bike for youngsters.
Instead of venturing outside, children can simply pedal away on the stationary bike while staring at a computer-generated image of a moving road on the TV screen.
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Inside track: The Smart Cycle goes on sale at the end of the month
And while manufacturer Fisher-Price claims the Smart Cycle is the ideal solution to concern about evergrowing child obesity, critics say it could be used as an excuse for parents who can't be bothered to take them out.
It also does nothing to combat worries that youngsters are spending too much time watching screens instead of looking at books or playing in the real world.
The Smart Cycle, which is aimed at children aged three to six, goes on sale at the end of the month priced at £99.99.
It comes with software which plays a number of different games when connected to the television.
These encourage users to pedal their way through the mountains, fields and car races which appear on the screen.
Fisher-Price spokesman Phil Hooper said: "It's not always possible for children to play outside these days - weather and safety concerns can be inhibiting.
"Smart Cycle aims to address this by providing a solution that combines both exciting physical activity and learning games that will positively encourage children to get up off the sofa."
The toy manufacturer claims that games which come with the bike also encourage children to learn about numbers and letters as they cycle.
Recent research by the British Heart Foundation suggested that half of the nation's children do not exercise regularly.
As a result, the number of overweight children has doubled in the last ten years. By the time children have reached secondary school a quarter are classified as obese.
Only half the children surveyed by the BHF walked to school and the same number spent four hours or more a day watching television or playing computer games.
Childhood obesity expert Professor Kamlesh Khunti of Leicester University said children who spend too much time watching television are particularly likely to become overweight. Obese children are at increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
