RELATIONSHIP OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AND TELEVISION WATCHING WITH BODY-WEIGHT AND LEVEL OF FATNESS AMONG CHILDREN - RESULTS FROM THE 3RD NATIONAL-HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEY
Re. Andersen et al., RELATIONSHIP OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AND TELEVISION WATCHING WITH BODY-WEIGHT AND LEVEL OF FATNESS AMONG CHILDREN - RESULTS FROM THE 3RD NATIONAL-HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEY, JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, 279(12), 1998, pp. 938-942
Context.-Physical inactivity contributes to weight gain in adults, but
whether this relationship is true for children of different ethnic gr
oups is not well established, Objective.-To assess participation in vi
gorous activity and television watching habits and their relationship
to body weight and fatness in US children, Design.-Nationally represen
tative cross-sectional survey with an in-person interview and medical
examination, Setting and Participants.-Between 1988 and 1994, 4063 chi
ldren aged 8 through 16 years were examined as part of the National He
alth and Nutrition Examination Survey III, Mexican Americans and non-H
ispanic blacks were oversampled to produce reliable estimates for thes
e groups, Main Outcome Measures.-Episodes of weekly vigorous activity
and daily hours of television watched, and their relationship to body
mass index and body fatness. Results.-Eighty percent of US children re
ported performing 3 or more bouts of vigorous activity each week, This
rate was lower in non-Hispanic black and Mexican American girls (69%
and 73%, respectively). Twenty percent of US children participated in
2 or fewer bouts of vigorous activity per week, and the rate was highe
r in girls (26%) than in boys (17%), Overall, 26% of US children watch
ed 4 or more hours of television per day and 67% watched at least 2 ho
urs per day, Non-Hispanic black children had the highest rates of watc
hing 4 or more hours of television per day (42%), Boys and girls who w
atch 4 or more hours of television each day had greater body fat (P<.0
01) and had a greater body mass index (P<.001) than those who watched
less than 2 hours per day, Conclusions.-Many US children watch a great
deal of television and are inadequately vigorously active. Vigorous a
ctivity levels are lowest among girls, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexica
n Americans, Intervention strategies to promote lifelong physical acti
vity among US children are needed to stem the adverse health consequen
ces of inactivity.