Hollywood has perfected the art of storytelling.
Now more people start to focus not so much on how the stories are being told, but what the stories are teaching.

A recent study from the University of Southern California examined the effects of watching the popular TV show “ER” (Emergency Room). They specially looked at three episodes that had “embedded lessons” about teen obesity, hypertension and healthy eating habits in them.

The storyline was three episodes long and illustrated the case of an African-American teen suffering from hypertension. Advice was given to eat more fruits and vegetables and get more exercise.

Did this storyline influence the viewers behaviour? According to the studies yes. It did so to a very minor degree, the behaviour and attitude change was a small positive change.

But think about it: 3 episodes!
If just watching 3 episodes of a TV show could create a MEASURABLE change in attitude and behaviour, that’s amazing! Remember that people watched this TV show for one reason only: entertainment. There was no “health-agenda” in the viewers’ minds. It’s a way of sugarcoating health-education and influencing people.

Details about the study
The researchers measured the effects of the story by using three separate sets of data. One of them provided data on a sample of 807 prime time TV viewers, taken both before and after the three episodes aired. They measured whether their self reported behavior, nutritional habits, knowledge as well as practices were influenced by the storyline.

Those who watched the ER episodes were 65% more likely to report a positive change. They also showed that the storyline had at least some impact. Those who watched ER had a 5% higher rate of knowledge concerning nutrition facts than those who did not watch.

Thomas W. Valente who conducted the study said: “This study demonstrates the importance of interventions and programs targeted at a population level. We have so many public heath issues to deal with, we can’t restrict ourselves to any one strategy. We have to do everything and anything we can to help people improve their health.”

Valente goes on: “People get their information from entertainment. It’s not a magic bullet. It’s a small piece of the puzzle, but we’d be silly to ignore its potential.”

Thomas W. Valente is a Ph.D. and associate professor of preventive medicine and member of the IPR (Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
He also worked on a similar study before, where he examined the effects on viewers of TV shows that tell stories about breast cancer.

I like what Bill Tancer wrote for Time magazine:

“Years ago, I watched several episodes of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? But I’m still waiting for someone to show me the money.”

I think the point is pretty clear, and while certain people have used the study to say: “TV is good for your health” (hrrm…) keep in mind that watching TV is not a healthy activity. However, since most people do it anyway, it’s surely a good idea to use the persuasive power TV has on us. Advertisers do it all the time. They influence our behaviour and thoughts. But they don’t do it for OUR good, but for the good of their profits, to sell more products. Why isn’t that power used more often to the benefit of the people who actually watch TV?

Read more:

• Watch Television, Lose Weight? (Time.com)
• ER Episode Impacts Viewers’ Health Knowledge And Behavior
• Impact of health messages in entertainment (news-medical.net)
• ER Episode Impacts Viewers’ Health Knowledge and Behavior (Newswise)
• ‘ER’ - it does a body good (azcentral.com)
  
• The original study (abstract): Evaluating a Minor Storyline on ER About Teen Obesity, Hypertension, and 5 A Day
• Get Healthier with ‘ER’ (BuddyTV.com)

Related:

• Motivating Television Viewers to Become Organ Donors (gwumc.edu)
• Genetic determinants of medical decisions on primetime television: An evaluation of content and impact of breast cancer storylines on two popular medical dramas; Valente, T.W., Hether, H. J., Huang, G., & Beck, V. (November, 2006)