Association between the family environment and television viewing in Australian children.

AIM

To describe the time children spend watching television (TV) and to assess associations between TV viewing time, the family environment and weight status.

METHODS

Parents reported the amount of time children watched TV/video both for 'the previous school day' and 'usually' and described aspects of the family environment influencing TV access as part of a large cross-sectional study in the Barwon South-western region of Victoria, Australia. Child weight status was based on measured height and weight. All data were collected in 2003/2004.

RESULTS

A total of 1926 children aged 4-12 years participated. Parent-reported mean +/- SE TV time for the previous school day was 83 +/- 1.5 min. Children who lived in a family with tight rules governing TV viewing time (22%), or who never watched TV during dinner (33%), or had only one TV in the household (23%) or had no TV in their bedroom (81%) had significantly less TV time than their counterparts. Overweight or obese children had more TV time than healthy weight children 88 +/- 2.9 versus 82 +/- 1.7 min per day (P=0.04). They were also more likely to live in a household where children had a TV in their bedroom than healthy weight children (25% vs. 17%, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Strategies to reduce TV time should be included as part of broader strategies to prevent childhood obesity. They should include messages to parents about not having a TV in children's bedrooms, encouraging family rules restricting TV viewing, and not having the TV on during dinner.