Abstract
This study examined the associations between perceived neighborhood and home environmental factors and excessive television (TV) viewing time among Taiwanese older adults. The sample data was collected by administering computer-assisted telephone interviewers to 980 Taiwanese older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) living in two regions. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine the associations between self-reported perceived neighborhood and home environmental attributions and TV viewing time by using logistic regression analyses. The results showed that perceived neighborhood and home environmental factors were associated with excessive TV viewing time (≥2 h/day) after adjusting for potential confounders. Compared with a reference group, older adults who perceived their neighborhoods to have unsafe traffic were more likely to report excessive TV viewing time (OR = 1.36, 95%CI = 1.02–1.82). Older adults who reported having two or more TV sets in the home (OR = 1.77, CI = 1.28–2.44) and having a TV in the bedroom (OR = 1.55, CI = 1.18–2.03) were also more likely to report excessive TV viewing time. Further longitudinal research can confirm these findings, and tailored interventions focusing on the perceptions of neighborhood traffic safety and TV access at home for older adults might be effective means of preventing excessive TV viewing time.
Highlights
Sedentary behavior has become a new focus of public health researchers and officials, as recent research has indicated that excessive amounts of sedentary behavior may negatively affect peoples’health over time [1], with older adults likely being affected [2]
The proportion of older adults aged over 75 years was 37.1%; 52.1% of the participants were men; 76.7% of the participants had been educated up to high school; 23.9% of the participants were unmarried; 13.1% of the participants were living alone; 80.4% of the participants were non-employed; 48.6% of the participants were living in a nonmetropolitan area; 41.4% of the participants were overweight; 40.7% of the participants reported insufficient leisure-time physical activity (LTPA); and 57.4% of the participants engaged in ě2 h/day TV viewing time
The most crucial findings of the present study are that, after controlling for the sociodemographic, body mass index (BMI), LTPA and household motor vehicles covariates, older adults who perceived unsafe traffic, had two or more TV sets in the home and had a TV set in the bedroom were concurrently associated with excessive TV viewing time (ě2 h/day)
Summary
Sedentary behavior has become a new focus of public health researchers and officials, as recent research has indicated that excessive amounts of sedentary behavior may negatively affect peoples’health over time [1], with older adults likely being affected [2]. Several prospective studies have reported that prolonged TV viewing time is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, increased waist circumference, obesity and cardiovascular disease [5,6]. Several previous studies have shown viewing more than 2 h of TV per day is associated with increased risk of overweight [8,9] and type 2 diabetes [10]. Despite these adverse consequences, a recent study found that nearly half (47.4%) of older adults in Taiwan engage in
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