Associations of various family characteristics and time use with children's body mass index

Contributions of Research based on the PSID Child Development Supplement

The Child Development Supplement to the PSID (PSID-CDS) began in 1997 with a cohort of 2,394 households including 3,586 children. Since that auspicious start, three waves of the first cohort were collected - 1997, 2002-03, and 2007-08 - and a new cohort was interviewed in 2014. To date more than 400 journal articles, chapters, books, and dissertations that used the data have been collected in the PSID bibliography. This paper brings together founders and early adopters to summarize important contributions to the child development, time use, media, and health literatures. The purpose of this paper is not a detailed literature review but an overview of the literature and knowledge base to which PSID-CDS researchers have contributed. It points out unique methodological and measurement contributions, summarizes the motivation for research on parental investments in children, reviews findings regarding healthy child development, and examines the role of neighborhoods in children's lives.

What can be learned from adolescent time diary research

Time use is increasingly being recognized as a determinant and indicator of adolescent well-being internationally. Three existing literature reviews of time-use research with children and adolescents have identified time-use diaries as the preferred data collection method. Furthermore, they have encouraged researchers to examine multidimensional patterns of overall time use in large-sample whole child populations to better understand the health, well-being, and quality of life of children and young people. However, these three existing reviews differ in the time frames covered; the age ranges targeted; the categories of time use examined; and the time-use data collection and analysis methods used. This study aimed to map the extent and nature of time diary studies with well adolescents (aged 10-19 years) and the use of person-centered data analysis of overall time use as a multidimensional unit. Finally, it explores whether and how the included studies analyzed the relationship between time use and health, well-being, and quality of life. A scoping review method was employed using Arksey and O'Malley's five-step framework. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were secondary analyses of cross-sectional population-level time-use or lifestyle survey data. One-third of studies (n = 11) captured data representing 24 hours of the day. Two studies (6%) used person-centered analyses, while six studies (18%) empirically examined time use in relation to health and well-being. No studies examined adolescent 24-hour time use and quality of life. Adolescent time-use researchers are encouraged to be explicit in identifying the stage of adolescence to which their studies relate; capture 24-hour time-use data; analyze overall activity patterns as multidimensional units using person-centered methods; and use robust, reliable, valid, sensitive, and age-appropriate instruments to empirically examine time use and health, well-being, and quality of life. Through this, healthy patterns of everyday activity for adolescents can be illuminated.

The health indicators associated with screen-based sedentary behavior among adolescent girls: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Evidence suggests sitting time is independently associated with a range of health issues in adults, yet the relationship between sedentary behavior and health indicators in young people is less clear. Age-related increases in sedentary behavior are well-documented; the behavioral patterns of adolescent girls are of particular concern. More than one third of adolescent girls' sedentary behavior time is accumulated through use of recreational screen-based behaviors. The objective of this review was to investigate the association between recreational screen-based sedentary behavior and the physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health indicators for adolescent girls. A secondary objective was to identify studies that have adjusted sedentary behavior indicators for physical activity.

METHODS

A structured electronic search of all publication years (through December 2011) was conducted to identify studies in: CINAHL, Communications and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE with Full Text, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Included publications were observational and interventional studies involving adolescent girls (12-18 years) that examined associations between screen-based, sedentary behavior and health indicators (physical, psychosocial, and/or behavioral). The search identified 33 studies that evaluated health indicators of screen-based sedentary behaviors among adolescent girls.

RESULTS

Strong evidence for a positive association between screen-based sedentary behavior and weight status was found. A positive association was observed between screen-time and sleep problems, musculoskeletal pain and depression. Negative associations were identified between screen time and physical activity/fitness, screen time and psychological well-being, and screen time and social support. The relationship between screen-based sedentary behavior and diet quality was inconclusive. Less than half of the studies adjusted sedentary behavior indicators for physical activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Screen-based sedentary behavior is associated with a range of adverse health consequences, but additional longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the health impacts. In addition, screen-time guidelines for youth should be regularly revised and updated to reflect rapid technological changes.

Let's get technical! Gaming and technology for weight control and health promotion in children

Most children, including lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minority children, play video games, use computers, and have cell phones, and growing numbers have smart phones and electronic tablets. They are comfortable with, even prefer, electronic media. Many expect to be entertained and have a low tolerance for didactic methods. Thus, health promotion with children needs to incorporate more interactive media. Interactive media for weight control and health promotion among children can be broadly classified into web-based educational/therapeutic programs, tailored motivational messaging systems, data monitoring and feedback systems, active video games, and diverse forms of interactive multimedia experiences involving games. This article describes the primary characteristics of these different technological methods; presents the strengths and weaknesses of each in meeting the needs of children of different ages; emphasizes that we are in the earliest stages of knowing how best to design these systems, including selecting the optimal requisite behavioral change theories; and identifies high-priority research issues. Gaming and technology offer many exciting, innovative opportunities for engaging children and promoting diet and physical activity changes that can contribute to obesity prevention and weight loss maintenance. Research needs to clarify optimal procedures for effectively promoting change with each change procedure.

Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth

Accumulating evidence suggests that, independent of physical activity levels, sedentary behaviours are associated with increased risk of cardio-metabolic disease, all-cause mortality, and a variety of physiological and psychological problems. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to determine the relationship between sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth aged 5-17 years. Online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO), personal libraries and government documents were searched for relevant studies examining time spent engaging in sedentary behaviours and six specific health indicators (body composition, fitness, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, self-esteem, pro-social behaviour and academic achievement). 232 studies including 983,840 participants met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Television (TV) watching was the most common measure of sedentary behaviour and body composition was the most common outcome measure. Qualitative analysis of all studies revealed a dose-response relation between increased sedentary behaviour and unfavourable health outcomes. Watching TV for more than 2 hours per day was associated with unfavourable body composition, decreased fitness, lowered scores for self-esteem and pro-social behaviour and decreased academic achievement. Meta-analysis was completed for randomized controlled studies that aimed to reduce sedentary time and reported change in body mass index (BMI) as their primary outcome. In this regard, a meta-analysis revealed an overall significant effect of -0.81 (95% CI of -1.44 to -0.17, p = 0.01) indicating an overall decrease in mean BMI associated with the interventions. There is a large body of evidence from all study designs which suggests that decreasing any type of sedentary time is associated with lower health risk in youth aged 5-17 years. In particular, the evidence suggests that daily TV viewing in excess of 2 hours is associated with reduced physical and psychosocial health, and that lowering sedentary time leads to reductions in BMI.