Electronic media and beverage intake among United States high school students--2010

To describe electronic media exposure and its associations with beverage intake among United States high school students.

School-based survey data from a nationally representative sample of 9th- through 12th-grade students from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study were analyzed using chi-square and multivariate logistic analyses.

On an average school day, 23.5% of students used a computer or played video/computer games ≥ 3 h/d, 28.3% watched television (TV) ≥ 3 h/d, 79.9% had ≥ 3 TVs in the home, 70.2% had a TV in their bedroom, and 41.0% most of the time or always had a TV on while eating dinner at home. Students with high media exposure were more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages ≥ 3 times per day and less likely to drink water ≥ 3 times per day and drink ≥ 2 glasses of milk per day.

Efforts to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake among adolescents may include limiting exposure to electronic media.