BACKGROUNDNumerous studies have shown that time spent on television (TV) viewing is positively associated with obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the potential association between excessive TV viewing and obesity, especially abdominal obesity, among children and adolescents in mainland of China.

METHODSA total of 4708 children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years were recruited for the study. Anthropometric measures were conducted by trained personnels. A self-report questionnaire was designed to gather information on TV time, physical activity, diet habits, maternal body mass index (BMI), birth weight, and on general demographics, including age and gender, and socio-economic status.

RESULTSThe prevalence of obesity in this group was 6.5%. Linear regression analysis indicated that high TV viewing time (≥ 1.5 h/d) was significantly associated with higher BMI, waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). In addition, the high TV time group had 1.3 times the odds of obesity as compared to the low TV time group. Likewise, high TV viewing time increased the OR value 1.32 and 1.21 times higher in WC- and WHtR-defined obesity. Within the non-obesity group, high TV viewing time was also positively associated with higher WC and WHtR. All these correlations remained significant after adjustment for the confounding variables.

CONCLUSIONSExcessive TV viewing might increase the risk of obesity among Chinese youth. Reducing TV viewing time may be beneficial to improve health outcomes, both in the short- and long term. This finding should be taken into account in future designs of intervention policies to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity in China.