Screen time increases risk of overweight and obesity in active and inactive 9-year-old Irish children: a cross sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND

Independent associations between screen time (ST)/physical activity (PA) and overweight (OW)/obesity have been demonstrated but little research exists on the role of ST among sufficiently active children.

PURPOSE

To examine the combined influence of ST and PA on risk of OW/obesity in a nationally representative sample of 9-year-old Irish children.

METHODS

The sample in this cross sectional analysis contained 8568 children. Self-report parent data were used to group children into ST and PA categories and related to OW/obesity using forced entry logistic regression.

RESULTS

High ST (> 3 hours/day), bedroom TV and mobile phone ownership increased risk of OW/obesity in high and low active children (P < .05). Low PA (<9 bouts fortnightly) was also associated with OW/obesity. In combined analyses, OW/obesity was lowest in the reference low ST/high PA group with ORs of 1.38, 1.63, and 2.07, respectively, in the low ST/low PA, high ST/high PA, and high ST/low PA groups. Access to electronic media, low socioeconomic status, parental obesity, and not engaging in sports were all related to high ST (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

This study supports findings that ST is associated with OW/Obesity demonstrating this separately in high and low active children.