Background
Screen time (including TV viewing/computer use) may be adversely associated with metabolic
and mental health in children.
Purpose
To describe the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of screen time in an international
sample of children aged 4–17 years.
Methods
Data from the International Children’s Accelerometry Database were collected between
1997–2009 and analyzed in 2013. Participants were 11,434 children (48.9% boys; mean
[SD] age at first assessment, 11.7 [3.2] years). Exposures were sex, age, weight status,
maternal education, and ethnicity. The outcome was self- or proxy-reported screen
time <2 or >2 hours/day. Analyses were conducted initially at study level and then
combined using random-effects meta-analysis.
Results
Within each contributing study, at least two thirds of participants exceeded 2 hours/day
of screen time. In meta-analytic models, overweight or obese children were more likely
to exceed 2 hours/day of screen time than those who were non-overweight (OR=1.58,
95% CI=1.33,1.88). Girls (vs boys: 0.65; 0.54, 0.78) and participants with more highly
educated mothers (vs <university level: 0.53; 0.42, 0.68) were less likely to exceed
2 hours/day of screen time. Associations of age and ethnicity with screen time were
inconsistent at study level and non-significant in pooled analyses.
Conclusions
Screen time in excess of public health guidelines was highly prevalent, particularly
among boys, those who were overweight or obese, and those with mothers of lower educational
attainment. The population-attributable risk associated with this exposure is potentially
high; further efforts to understand the determinants of within- and between-country
variation in these behaviors and inform the development of effective behavior change
intervention programs is warranted.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to American Journal of Preventive MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and health: paradigm paralysis or paradigm shift?.Diabetes. 2010; 59: 2717-2725
- Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011; 8: 98
- Do computer use, TV viewing, and the presence of the media in the bedroom predict school-aged children’s sleep habits in a longitudinal study?.BMC Public Health. 2013; 13: 684
- Children, adolescents, obesity, and the media.Pediatrics. 2011; 128: 201-208
- Generation M2: media in the lives of 8–18 year olds.Kaiser Family Foundation. 2010;
- International children’s accelerometry database (ICAD): design and methods.BMC Public Health. 2011; 11: 485
- Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey.BMJ. 2000; 320: 1240-1243
- Television, reading, and computer time: correlates of school-day leisure-time sedentary behavior and relationship with overweight in children in the U.S.J Phys Act Health. 2011; 8: S188-S197
- Physical activity, sedentary time and adiposity during the first two decades of life.Proc Nutr Soc. 2014; 73: 319-329
- Sedentary behaviour in youth.Br J Sports Med. 2011; 45: 906-913
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 15, 2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.
