Abstract
ObjectivesTo investigate changes in children’s television and computer time according to three socio-economic status (SES) indicators.DesignProspective cohort study.MethodsData were drawn from the European Youth Heart Study and included longitudinal data collected in 1997 and 2003 in Denmark. Television and computer time were self-reported by children. Parental education, income and ethnicity were parent-reported. Baseline data were available for 549 children (47.0% boys, 9.6 years). Generalized linear mixed models analyzed whether changes in television and computer time from baseline to follow-up differed according to the SES-indicators.ResultTV viewing time increased with 25% over time (ExpB = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04–1.50). At both time points, children with two higher educated parents viewed 25% less hours of television than children with no higher educated parents (ExpB = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.60–0.94) and one higher educated parent (ExpB = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.59–0.97). Among children with no higher educated parents the odds of being in a higher category of computer time increased with 80% over time (OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.24–2.60). Among children with two higher educated parents the odds of being in a higher category of computer time decreased with 45% over time (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.32–0.94). The association with ethnicity showed that white children had 42% lower odds (OR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.34–1.00) of being in a higher category of computer time than non-white children. No significant associations were found for parental income.ConclusionsThe most important SES measure of screen-based behaviors in children was parental education. Ethnicity was only associated with computer time. Financial resources were less relevant for changes in television viewing and computer use.
Highlights
Sedentary behavior is the collective name of a cluster of activities that are done while sitting or lying down, and which are characterized by a low energy expenditure ( 1.5 metabolic equivalents) [1]
Ethnicity was only associated with computer time
More evidence exists for an association between sedentary behavior and health indicators in adults [2,3,4,5], the body of evidence in children has grown during the last years and showed an adverse association between sedentary behavior in children and adolescents and obesity, blood pressure, total cholesterol, self-esteem, social behavior problems, physical fitness and academic achievement [2, 6]
Summary
Sedentary behavior is the collective name of a cluster of activities that are done while sitting or lying down, and which are characterized by a low energy expenditure ( 1.5 metabolic equivalents) [1]. Higher screen time in children has been associated with health indicators such as unfavorable body composition, higher clustered cardio metabolic risk scores, unfavorable behavioral conduct/prosocial behavior and lower self-esteem [10]. A study with 9- to 11-year-old children comparing compliance with screen time guidelines across ten different countries showed an overall compliance of 39.3% [12]. This necessitates the development of effective interventions aiming to decrease screen time in this age group. Establishing healthy behaviors early in life might lead to sustained habits later on and in adulthood
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