AUTHOR=Fan Huiying , Yan Jin , Yang Zhen , Liang Kaixin , Chen Sitong 

TITLE=Cross-sectional associations between screen time and the selected lifestyle behaviors in adolescents

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.932017

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.932017

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: In adolescents, excessive screen time leads to many adverse health outcomes and is associated with a variety of lifestyle behaviours. This study was conducted to investigate the association between the two types of screen time and a variety of lifestyle behaviours in American adolescents.
Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed 13,677 students (aged 14-18 years) from the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System. With the help of data collectors, participants self-reported screening time, lifestyle behaviours, and demographic data via well-validated tools.
Results: 19.0% and 43.4% of the participants spent more than two hours a day watching television and using the computer, respectively, while the prevalence of physical inactivity and sleep deprivation was 75.1% and 74.4% respectively. Furthermore, 11.9%, 7.3%, 14.3%, and 21.3% of the participants reported skipping fruits, vegetables, breakfast and milk, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco consumption and sexual activity was 26.8%, 5.3% and 23.5% respectively. More than two hours of television time was significantly associated with high risks of fewer frequency for eating fruit (OR =1.605, 95%CI: 1.308-1.970), vegetables (OR =1.389, 95%CI: 1.029-1.873), and smoking (OR =1.465, 95%CI: 1.088-1.972). Computer/video time for more than two hours was significantly associated with high risks of physical inactivity (OR =1.724, 95%CI: 1.531-1.941), sleep deprivation (OR =1.354, 95%CI: 1.151-1.592), and not eating fruit (OR =1.434, 95%CI: 1.179-1.745).
Conclusion: Increased screen time may be negatively associated with selected unhealthy lifestyle behaviours in adolescents. Furthermore, associations between different types of screen time and various lifestyle behaviours varied.