Cross-sectional associations between screen time and the selected lifestyle behaviors in adolescents

Background: In adolescents, excessive screen time leads to many adverse health outcomes and is associated with a variety of lifestyle behaviors. This study was conducted to investigate the associations between the two types of screen time and a variety of lifestyle behaviors in American adolescents.

Methods: Based on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, this cross-sectional study was conducted. With the help of data collectors, participants self-reported screening time, lifestyle behaviors, and demographic data via well-validated tools.

Results: 19% and 43.4% of the participants spent more than two hours a day watching television and using the computer, respectively, while the prevalence of physical inactivity and insufficient sleep was 75.1 and 74.4% respectively. Furthermore, 11.9, 7.3, 14.3, and 21.3% of the participants reported skipping fruits, vegetables, breakfast and milk, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco consumption and sexual activity was 26.8, 5.3, and 23.5% respectively. More than two hours of television time was significantly associated with high risks of fewer frequency for eating fruit (OR = 1.605, 95%CI: 1.308-1.970), vegetables (OR = 1.389, 95%CI: 1.029-1.873), and smoking (OR = 1.465, 95%CI: 1.088-1.972). Computer/video time for more than two hours was significantly associated with high risks of physical inactivity (OR = 1.724, 95%CI: 1.531-1.941), insufficient sleep (OR = 1.354, 95%CI: 1.151-1.592), and not eating fruit (OR = 1.434, 95%CI: 1.179-1.745).

Conclusion: Increased screen time may be associated with specific unhealthy lifestyle behaviors in adolescents. Furthermore, the associations between different types of screen time and various lifestyle behaviors varied.