MUMBAI:Turn off TV and turn on life! The 10th edition of the TV Turn off week 2004, with strong support from the public and leading health groups, started on Monday 19 April in the US.

Founded in 1994, the TV-Turnoff Network has spent the past decade spreading the message that, by switching off the idiot box people are able to lead healthier lives because then they would interact with friends and family more. It advises people to take a seven day break from TV and reclaim time to talk, play, read, exercise, dream and live life.

Research made by the network in US shows that Americans spend a minimum of seven hours per day in front of the television. It also shows that around 54 per cent of American children have a TV in their bedrooms. The network presses on the fact that television cuts into family time, harms children's ability to read and succeed in school and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.

With "millions of people having been fed up with indecency on the airwaves", the organisation expects a greater support of the public this year.

More than seven million including children and adults, and 80 organisations are expected to participate over 17,500turnoffs around the world. The network is supported by various US organisations including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association, and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, claims the organisation.

The organisation adds that more than 24 million people have participated in the TV-Turnoff Week since 1995 and more than 30,000 US students have benefitted from the programme.

According to the Washington D.C based non profit TV Turnoff Network, last year around 7.04 million people including kids and adults pulled the plug and turned off TV during the TV turnoff week