Abstract
BackgroundScreen time has been associated with pediatric overweight. However, it is unclear whether overweight predicts or is predicted by excessive amounts of screen time. The aim of this study was to examine the direction of the association between screen time and body fatness in Dutch adolescents.MethodsLongitudinal data of 465 Dutch adolescents (mean age at baseline 13 years, 53% boys) was used. Body fatness (objectively measured BMI, four skin folds and waist- and hip circumference), self-reported time spent watching TV and computer use, and aerobic fitness (shuttle run test) were assessed in all participants at three time points during 12 months. Multi-level linear autoregressive analyses was used to examine whether screen time predicted body fatness in the following time period and whether body fatness predicted screen time. Analyses were performed for boys and girls separately and adjusted for ethnicity and aerobic fitness.ResultsTime spent TV viewing did predict changes in BMI and hip circumference in boys, but not in girls, in the subsequent period. Computer time significantly predicted increases in skinfolds in boys and girls and increases in BMI in girls. Body fatness did not predict any changes in screen time.ConclusionThe present study only partly supports the widely posited hypothesis that higher levels of screen time cause increases in body fatness. In addition, this study demonstrates that high levels of body fatness do not predict increases in screen time.
Highlights
Screen time has been associated with pediatric overweight
Body fatness predicted by excessive screen time The present study showed that TV viewing time predicted changes in two indicators of body fatness (BMI and hip circumference (HC)) in adolescent boys, but not in girls
The present study demonstrated that computer time predicted changes in skinfold thickness among adolescent boys and girls, and changes in body mass index (BMI) among adolescent boys
Summary
Screen time has been associated with pediatric overweight. The aim of this study was to examine the direction of the association between screen time and body fatness in Dutch adolescents. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among youth has increased worldwide. A ‘Westernized’ lifestyle of excessive energy intake and sedentary behavior is hypothesized as an important factor in the worldwide increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity [3,4,5,6,7]. Metcalf et al [21] recently questioned the direction of causality between objective measures of physical activity (PA) and pediatric body fatness. Their study demonstrated that body fatness predicted decreased PA, but insufficient PA did not predict increases in body fatness. Youth that engage in plenty of PA may engage in excessive sedentary activities [10]. PA and sedentary behavior are not closely inversely related, and these behaviors should be considered as separate entities [23,24,25,26], with separate behavioral patterns, determinants and consequences
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