Abstract
BackgroundTelevision (TV) viewing time is positively associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults. However, the mechanisms through which TV viewing time is associated with MetS risk remain unclear. There is evidence that the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient poor snack foods increases during TV viewing time among adults, suggesting that these behaviors may jointly contribute towards MetS risk. While the association between TV viewing time and the MetS has previously been shown to be independent of adult’s overall dietary intake, the specific influence of snack food consumption on the relationship is yet to be investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and joint associations of daily TV viewing time and snack food consumption with the MetS and its components in a sample of Australian adults.MethodsPopulation-based, cross-sectional study of 3,110 women and 2,572 men (>35 years) without diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Participants were recruited between May 1999 and Dec 2000 in the six states and the Northern Territory of Australia. Participants were categorised according to self-reported TV viewing time (low: 0-2 hr/d; high: >2 hr/d) and/or consumption of snack foods (low: 0-3 serves/d; high: >3 serves/d). Multivariate odds ratios [95% CI] for the MetS and its components were estimated using gender-specific, forced entry logistic regression.ResultsOR [95% CI] for the MetS was 3.59 [2.25, 5.74] (p≤0.001) in women and 1.45 [1.02, 3.45] (p = 0.04) in men who jointly reported high TV viewing time and high snack food consumption. Obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension (women only) were also jointly associated with high TV viewing time and high snack food consumption. Further adjustment for diet quality and central adiposity maintained the associations in women. High snack food consumption was also shown to be independently associated with MetS risk [OR: 1.94 (95% CI: 1.45, 2.60), p < 0.001] and hypertension [OR: 1.43 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.02), p = 0.05] in women only. For both men and women, high TV viewing time was independently associated with the MetS and its individual components (except hypertension).ConclusionTV viewing time and snack food consumption are independently and jointly associated with the MetS and its components, particularly in women. In addition to physical activity, population strategies targeting MetS prevention should address high TV time and excessive snack food intake.
Highlights
Television (TV) viewing time is positively associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults
While certain lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity [1] and diet [2] have been shown to be inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), recent evidence from cross-sectional studies have identified time spent in leisure-time sedentary behaviors [3,4,5,6,7] and overall sitting time [8,9] to be independently associated with MetS risk in adults
Of the 5,682 participants included in the analyses, 168 (5.4%) women and 319 (12.4%) men were classified as having the MetS according to WHO criteria
Summary
Television (TV) viewing time is positively associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults. There is evidence that the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient poor snack foods increases during TV viewing time among adults, suggesting that these behaviors may jointly contribute towards MetS risk. While certain lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity [1] and diet [2] have been shown to be inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), recent evidence from cross-sectional studies have identified time spent in leisure-time sedentary behaviors [3,4,5,6,7] and overall sitting time [8,9] to be independently associated with MetS risk in adults. The mechanisms through which TV viewing time increases MetS risk remain unclear, one lifestyle behavior proposed as a potential mediator is poor dietary habits, the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient poor snack foods [11]. It has been suggested that this may be a consequence of exposure to snack-food advertising during TV viewing, which increases adult’s propensity to consume such foods [15]
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