Abstract
Purpose: To understand the longitudinal association of screen time (ST) and its changes on body mass index (BMI) and obesity in Chinese preschool children. Methods: Parents of 735 preschoolers participated in our studies at baseline and were followed up one year interval, in Jiaxing, China. Linear regression models and generalized linear models were used to analyze the prospective association of ST and its changes with BMI and obesity in preschool-aged children. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to describe the effect level of each factor upon BMI and obesity at follow-up. Results: A total of 624 preschoolers, including 319 boys (51.1%) and 305 girls (48.9%) were followed up. The increase of ST (from ≤1h/d at baseline to >1h/d at follow-up, β (SE)=0.45 (0.15), p=0.003) and preschoolers’ age at baseline (β (SE)=-0.21 (0.10), p=0.039) were prospectively associated with BMI in preschoolers at follow-up, and preschoolers’ ST from ≤1 h/day to >1 h/day (RR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.20-5.08, p=0.014) were related to obesity in preschoolers at follow-up after adjusting of sex, age, primary caregiver, and one child. Conclusions: The unfavorable changes of ST were associated with BMI and obesity in preschool-aged children. Future intervention studies were needed to confirm our results.
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