Abstract
BackgroundHaving a TV in the bedroom is associated with adiposity in children. It is not known how lifestyle behaviours (television viewing time, diet patterns, physical activity, and sleep duration) mediate this association. The objective of this study was to examine the mediating role of these lifestyle behaviours in the association between TV in the bedroom and percent body fat (% BF).MethodsCross-sectional data from 1 201 children (57.3 % female; mean age = 9.8 years) from Ottawa, Canada and Baton Rouge, USA were examined. % BF was directly measured. Accelerometers were used to determine physical activity and sleep duration (24-h, 7-day protocol). Questionnaires were used to assess TV viewing time and healthy/unhealthy diet patterns (derived using factor analysis from food frequency questionnaire data).ResultsCanadian boys and girls with a TV in their bedroom had a higher % BF, watched more TV and had unhealthier diets. American boys and girls with a TV in their bedroom watched more TV, while boys had a higher % BF and a more unhealthy diet, and girls had less MVPA. In Canadian girls, TV viewing time mediated the association between having a TV in the bedroom and adiposity, independent of diet patterns, MVPA, and sleep duration. Other lifestyle mediators were not significant in Canadian boys or in US children.ConclusionTV viewing is a mediating lifestyle behaviour in the association between TV in the bedroom and adiposity in Canadian girls. Future research is needed to identify lifestyle behaviours as intermediate mediators.
Highlights
Young people spend more time with media than they do in school and, other than sleeping, TV viewing is the leading activity for children and adolescents [1]
We are aware of two other studies that have examined the potential mediating effects of children’s lifestyle behaviours on the association between having a TV in the bedroom and adiposity. Neither of these studies used objective measures of physical activity and sleep duration, and both used Body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity instead of adiposity [7, 15]. While these analyses provide many insights, the literature is limited in examining the influence of TV in the bedroom on diet patterns in children; studies have examined the link with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption [7, 11], but the association with children’s habitual diet patterns has not been addressed
Data from the NHANES 2005/ 2006 informed an a priori power calculation which indicated that a sample size of 500 participants from each of the 12 international sites would allow for statistical power of 97 %, when alpha = 0.05 and variance in adiposity (R2) explained by either dietary habits or physical activity = 3 %
Summary
Young people spend more time with media than they do in school and, other than sleeping, TV viewing is the leading activity for children and adolescents [1]. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggested in 2013 that parents should remove TVs from children’s bedrooms (along with internet connected electronic devices), thereby reducing their access [6] This is largely because evidence suggests that the presence of a TV in children’s bedrooms increases TV viewing time [7], risk of substance use, and Borghese et al International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2015) 12:60 adiposity [6, 8], as well as other health risks. Having a TV in the bedroom is associated with unhealthy food choices [11], lower levels of moderate-tovigorous physical activity (MVPA) [12], and poor sleep habits [13, 14] in children. The objective of this study was to examine the mediating role of these lifestyle behaviours in the association between TV in the bedroom and percent body fat (% BF)
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