College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, No. 252 Yijin, Lin'an, Zhejiang, 311300, China.
Rural Revitalization of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University, No. 252 Yijin, Lin'an, Zhejiang, 311300, China.
Int J Health Econ Manag. 2024 Dec;24(4):517-535. doi: 10.1007/s10754-024-09386-z. Epub 2024 Sep 16.
The widespread use of Internet has substantially influenced adolescents' lifestyles. This paper systematically explored the impact of Internet use on adolescent obesity and unveiled the underlying mechanism in China. We discussed the relationship among Internet use, dietary habits and obesity, and estimated the impact using panel data collected by the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Results indicated that increased Internet use significantly raised the risk of obesity among adolescents by changing their dietary habits. With a longer time of Internet use, adolescents would increase more proportion of snacks, and choose food with higher fat and protein. This paper offers a new empirical evidence for understanding the mechanism of Internet use on adolescent obesity, and provides a reference for developing countries to guide adolescents toward moderate Internet use and lower the risk of obesity.
互联网的广泛使用极大地影响了青少年的生活方式。本文系统地探讨了互联网使用对青少年肥胖的影响，并揭示了中国的内在机制。我们讨论了互联网使用、饮食习惯和肥胖之间的关系，并使用中国健康与营养调查收集的面板数据来估计这种影响。结果表明，互联网使用的增加通过改变青少年的饮食习惯显著增加了他们肥胖的风险。随着上网时间的延长，青少年会增加更多的零食比例，并选择脂肪和蛋白质含量更高的食物。本文为理解互联网使用对青少年肥胖的影响机制提供了新的经验证据，并为发展中国家引导青少年适度使用互联网、降低肥胖风险提供了参考。
