Television watching, energy intake, and obesity in US children - Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994

Objectives: To examine the relationship between television watching, energy intake, physical activity, and obesity status in US boys and girls, aged 8 to 16 years. Methods: We used a nationally representative cross-sectional survey with an in-person interview and a medical examination, which included measurements of height and weight, daily hours of television watching, weekly participa tion in physical activity, and a dietary interview. Between 1988 and 1994, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected data o n 4069 children. Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks were oversampled to produce reliable estimates for these groups. Results: The prevalence of obesity is lowest among children watching 1 or f ewer hours of television a day, and highest among those watching 4 or more hours of tele- vision a day. Girls engaged in less physical activity and co nsumed fewer joules per day than bays. A higher percentage of non-Hispanic white bays reported participating in physical activity 5 or more times per week than any other race/ethnic and sex group. Television watching was posi tively associated with obesity among girls, even after controlling for age, race/ethnicity, family income, weekly physical activity, and energy intake . Conclusions: As the prevalence of overweight increases, the need to reduce sedentary behaviors and to promote a more active lifestyle becomes essentia l. Clinicians and public health interventionists should encourage active li festyles to balance the energy intake of children.