A model linking video gaming, sleep quality, sweet drinks consumption and obesity among children and youth
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Published on: December 16, 2010
O Turel1,2, A Romashkin3,4, K M Morrison3
1Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA.
Insights
Excessive video game use before bed and during sessions is linked to childhood obesity. Poor sleep quality and sugary drink consumption while gaming contribute to this association, suggesting intervention targets.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern requiring effective interventions.
- Understanding the role of modern lifestyle factors, such as video game usage, is crucial for developing targeted strategies.
- Previous research indicates potential links between screen time and adverse health outcomes in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between specific video game usage patterns and indicators of obesity in children and adolescents.
- To identify potential mediating factors, such as sleep quality and beverage consumption, in the relationship between video gaming and obesity.
- To lay the groundwork for future intervention studies aimed at reducing pediatric obesity.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional, time-lagged cohort study design was utilized.
- Data were collected via parent-child surveys at time 1 (t1) and objective physical activity and physiological measures at time 2 (t2).
- Structural equation modeling and analysis of covariance were applied to analyze data from 125 children and adolescents (ages 9-17).
Main Results:
- Increased video game play duration within 4 hours of bedtime was associated with greater abdominal adiposity (waist-to-height ratio), potentially mediated by reduced sleep quality.
- Longer average video game session duration was linked to higher abdominal adiposity, mediated by increased sweet drink consumption and poorer sleep quality.
- Key factors identified include video game duration before bed, typical session length, in-game beverage consumption, and sleep quality, all negatively associated with abdominal adiposity.
Conclusions:
- Video game habits, particularly timing and duration, alongside associated behaviors like sweet drink intake and resultant sleep disturbances, are significantly linked to childhood abdominal obesity.
- These findings highlight modifiable factors that warrant further investigation for potential behavioral or pharmacological interventions.
- Pediatricians and researchers should consider these video game-related attributes when addressing pediatric obesity prevention and management.
Abstract:
There is a growing need to curb paediatric obesity. The aim of this study is to untangle associations between video-game-use attributes and obesity as a first step towards identifying and examining possible interventions. Cross-sectional time-lagged cohort study was employed using parent-child surveys (t1) and objective physical activity and physiological measures (t2) from 125 children/adolescents (mean age = 13.06, 9-17-year-olds) who play video games, recruited from two clinics at a Canadian academic children's hospital. Structural equation modelling and analysis of covariance were employed for inference. The results of the study are as follows: (i) self-reported video-game play duration in the 4-h window before bedtime is related to greater abdominal adiposity (waist-to-height ratio) and this association may be mediated through reduced sleep quality (measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index); and (ii) self-reported average video-game session duration is associated with greater abdominal adiposity and this association may be mediated through higher self-reported sweet drinks consumption while playing video games and reduced sleep quality. Video-game play duration in the 4-h window before bedtime, typical video-game session duration, sweet drinks consumption while playing video games and poor sleep quality have aversive associations with abdominal adiposity. Paediatricians and researchers should further explore how these factors can be altered through behavioural or pharmacological interventions as a means to reduce paediatric obesity.
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