Television Use and Snacking Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents in China
Received 3 January 2009; accepted 5 August 2009. published online 12 October 2009. Corrected Proof
Abstract
Purpose
Television (TV) use has been linked with poor eating behaviors and obesity in young people. This study examines the association between TV watching and paying attention to TV commercials with buying and requesting snacks seen on commercials, and eating snacks while watching TV among youth in China.
Methods
Data from 1,552 participants (ages 6–17.99) in the 2004 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed cross-sectionally. The 2004 China Health and Nutrition Survey was conducted in nine Chinese provinces.
Results
Most respondents (92.2%) reported watching TV; on average children (6–11.99 years old) and adolescents (12–17.99 years old) watched TV for 9–10 hours per week. Nearly half (42.9%) of all the respondents said they “sometimes” or “often” paid attention to TV commercials. Respondents who reported paying attention to commercials had higher odds of requesting snacks (odds ratio [OR]=3.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.55–4.60) and buying snacks (OR=2.73; 95% CI=2.17–3.43) seen on TV, and eating snacks while watching TV (OR=1.60; 95% CI=1.23–2.07) than those who did not pay attention. However, frequency of watching TV was not significantly related to snacking.
Conclusion
Attention to TV commercials for snack foods may be one of the factors affecting the increase in obesity among children and adolescents in China.
aGillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
bSchool of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
cCarolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
dThe Odum Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
eInstitute of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
Address correspondence to: Sarah A. Parvanta, M.P.H., The Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6220.
ABSTRACT
=