The effect of smartphone addiction on obesity in children and adolescents

The objective of this study is to ascertain the long-term risk of obesity associated with smartphone addiction in children and adolescents. We utilized a 4-year dataset from the Korean Children and Youth Survey 2018 (2018-2021). At baseline, the sample comprised 2,607 4th-grade elementary school students and 2,590 1st-grade middle school students (mean age: 11.3 ± 0.3, 14.3 ± 0.3 years, respectively). Of these, 2,718 (52.3%) were boys. Obesity was defined as a body mass index Z-score of at least the 95th percentile according to the 2017 Korean National Growth Charts. During the four-year follow-up period, the prevalence of obesity ranged from 6.9% to 8.4%, while the prevalence of being at high risk of smartphone addiction ranged from 2.1% to 4.8%. The logistic generalized estimating equation (GEE) was employed to examine the risk of obesity in those with addiction to smartphones. The risk of obesity was analyzed by adding smartphone screen time in Model 1, smartphone addiction in Model 2, and smartphone screen time and addiction in Model 3. The GEE results indicated that the odds of obesity increased by 16% in the potential-risk group for smartphone addiction compared to the normal group, even with the same duration of smartphone usage (OR [odds ratio] = 1.16, 95% CI [confidence interval] 1.01-1.33). Although the increase was not statistically significant, the odds of obesity were 1.24 times higher in the high-risk smartphone addiction group (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 0.94-1.65). Spending more than 3 hours on a smartphone was linked to 1.37-fold higher odds of obesity compared to spending less than 1 hour (95% CI 1.14-1.63). Smartphone addiction and overuse among children and adolescents can potentially raise obesity risks. Active interventions are needed to promote healthy smartphone behaviors in children and adolescents.