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

Citation
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
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal
ISSN journal
00987484
Volume
279
Issue
12
Year of publication
1998
Pages
938 - 942
Database
ISI
SICI code
0098-7484(1998)279:12<938:ROPATW>2.0.ZU;2-A
Abstract
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.