New Delhi, November 16 (IANS). A new research conducted on rats has revealed that children who spend more time on screens at a young age are likely to become premature adults because the blue light emitted from smartphones or tablets is harmful for health. It happens.
This research suggests that blue light emitted from smartphones or tablets is linked to faster bone growth and increased bone aging.
The research, presented at the 62nd annual European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology meeting in Liverpool, is the first to explore the link between bone growth and pubertal development.
“This is the first study that shows how blue light can affect physical growth and development,” said lead researcher Dr. Aylin Klink Ugurlu, from Gazi University in Turkey, which calls for further research on the impact of modern screens on children’s development. Needs to be done.”
“Since this study was conducted in rats, we cannot be sure that these findings will apply to children, but our data suggest that long-term exposure to blue light may affect physical development and cognitive function,” Ugurlu said. “Both growth plate maturation is accelerated, leading to precocious puberty.”
When children grow up, they develop long bones like femurs. While girls reach their maximum height between the ages of 14 and 16, boys complete their growth between the ages of 16 and 18.
However, recent studies have pointed to an increase in precocious puberty in both girls and boys. Studies show that children may grow fast at first, but often stop growing earlier than normal. Ugurlu said one reason may be the increased use of devices that emit blue light.
This study was conducted on 18 male and 18 female rats aged 21 days. They were divided into three groups of six and exposed to either a six-hour normal light cycle or 12 hours of blue light until the first signs of puberty.
The team measured the length and femur of the mice and found that the bones of the mice exposed to blue light grew faster.
This means that their bones mature too early, which may cause them to be shorter than average in height as adults. Ugurlu stressed the need for more studies in this regard.
–IANS
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