Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T03:29:19.054Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Television viewing behaviour and associations with food habits in different countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Carine A Vereecken ,
Joanna Todd ,
Chris Roberts ,
Caroline Mulvihill  and
Lea Maes
Carine A Vereecken*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Ghent University, UH, Block A, 2nd floor, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium:
Joanna Todd
Affiliation:
Child & Adolescent Health Research Unit, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK:
Chris Roberts
Affiliation:
Research and Evaluation Branch, Health Promotion Division, Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff, UK:
Caroline Mulvihill
Affiliation:
Health Development Agency, Holborn Gate, London, UK
Lea Maes
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Ghent University, UH, Block A, 2nd floor, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium:
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective

Several environmental factors influence adolescents' food habits and television (TV) viewing is thought to be one of these factors. The purpose of the present study was to describe sociodemographic differences in TV viewing and to examine associations of TV viewing with the consumption of sweets, soft drinks, fruit and vegetables in different countries.

Methods

Data were collected from 162 305 young people completing the 2001/02 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey, a World Health Organization cross-national study on health and health behaviours among 11–, 13– and 15–year-old school pupils. Analyses of variance were used to examine sociodemographic differences in TV viewing and logistic regression analyses to examine associations between TV viewing and food habits.

Results

Large differences were found between countries in reported daily TV viewing time, from an average of 2.0 h in Switzerland to 3.7 h in Ukraine. The results indicate that those most likely to watch TV are boys, 13-year-olds and pupils of lower socio-economic status. Those who watched more TV were more likely to consume sweets and soft drinks on a daily basis and less likely to consume fruit and vegetables daily, although the latter associations were not so apparent among Central and Eastern European countries.

Conclusions

Given the high TV viewing rates among adolescents and the association with less healthy food options, many young people are at increased risk of overweight or obesity. Interventions to modify TV viewing behaviour are needed. The findings underscore the importance of tackling socio-economic differences.

Keywords

TelevisionAdolescentsFruitVegetablesSoft drinksSweets
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , April 2006 , pp. 244 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2006

References

1Vereecken, C, Ojala, K, Delgrande-Jordan, M. Eating habits. In: Currie, C, Roberts, C, Morgan, A, Smith, R, Settertobulte, W, Samdal, O, et al. , eds. Young People'sHealth in Context. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study: International Report from the 2001/2002 Survey. WHO Policy Series: Health Policy for Children and Adolescents Issue 4. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2004; 110–9.Google Scholar
2Story, M, Neumark-Sztainer, D, French, SA. Individual and environmental influences on adolescent eating behaviors. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; 102(3): S40–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Van Den Bulck, J, Van Mierlo, J. Energy intake associated with television viewing in adolescents, a cross sectional study. Appetite 2004; 43(2): 181–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Gerbner, G, Morgan, M, Signorielli, N. Programming health portrayals: what viewers see, say and do. In: Pearl, D, Lazar, J, eds. Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eighties. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1982; 291–307.Google Scholar
5Strasburger, VC. Children and TV advertising: nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 2001 22(3): 185–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Coon, KA, Goldberg, J, Rogers, BL, Tucker, KL. Relationships between use of television during meals and children's food consumption patterns. Pediatrics 2001; 107(1): e7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Hastings, G, Stead, M, McDermott, L, Forsyth, A, MacKintosh, AM, Rayner, M, et al. Review of Research on the Effects of Food Promotion to Children. [online], 2003. London: Food Standards Agency. Available at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodpromotiontochildren1.pdf. Accessed 16 December 2004.Google Scholar
8Boynton-Jarrett, R, Thomas, TN, Peterson, KE, Wiecha, J, Sobol, AM, Gortmaker, SL. Impact of television viewing patterns on fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents. Pediatrics 2003; 112(6): 1321–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Lewis, MK, Hill, AJ. Food advertising on British children's television: a content analysis and experimental study with nine-year olds. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1998; 22(3): 206–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Van, denBulck, J. Is television bad for your health? Behavior and body image of the adolescent ‘couch potato’. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 2000; 29(3): 273–8.Google Scholar
11Utter, J, Neumark-Sztainer, D, Jeffery, R, Story, M. Couch potatoes or French fries: are sedentary behaviors associated with body mass index, physical activity, and dietary behaviors among adolescents? Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003; 103(10): 1298–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Woodward, DR, Cumming, FJ, Ball, PJ, Williams, C, Hornsby, H, Boon, JA. Does television affect teenagers’ food choices? Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 1997; 10: 229–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Stroebele, N, de Castro, JM. Television viewing is associated with an increase in meal frequency in humans. Appetite 2004; 42(1): 111–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Lowry, R, Wechsler, H, Galuska, DA, Fulton, JE, Kann, L. Television viewing and its associations with overweight, sedentary lifestyle, and insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables among US high school students: differences by race, ethnicity, and gender. Journal of School Health 2002; 72(10): 413–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Currie, C, Samdal, O, Boyce, W, Smith, B. Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children: A WHO Cross-National Study. Research Protocol for the 2001–2002 Survey. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, 2002.Google Scholar
16American Academy of Pediatrics. Children, adolescents, and television. Pediatrics. 2001; 107(2): 423–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Vereecken, C, Maes, L. A Belgian study on the reliability and relative validity of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children food frequency questionnaire. Public Health Nutrition 2003; 6(6): 581–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Todd, J, Currie, D. Sedentary behaviour. In: Currie, C, Roberts, C, Morgan, A, Smith, R, Settertobulte, W, Samdal, O, et al. , eds. Young People's Health in Context. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study: International Report from the 2001/2002 Survey. WHO Policy Series: Health Policy for Children and Adolescents Issue 4. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2004; 98–109.Google Scholar
19Saelens, BE, Sallis, JF, Nader, PR, Broyles, SL, Berry, CC, Taras, HL. Home environmental influences on children's television watching from early to middle childhood. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 2002; 23(3): 127–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Ozer, EM, Brindis, CD, Millstein, SG, Knopf, DK, Irwin, CEJ. America's Adolescents: Are They Healthy? San Francisco, CA: University of California, National Adolescent Health Information Center, 1998.Google Scholar
21Grund, A, Krause, H, Siewers, M, Rieckert, H, Muller, MJ. Is TV viewing an index of physical activity and fitness in overweight and normal weight children? Public Health Nutrition 2001; 4(6): 1245–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22Crockett, S, Sims, L. Environmental influences on children's eating. Journal of Nutrition Education 1995; 27: 235–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Kennedy, C. Examining television as an influence on children's health behaviors. Journal of Pediatric Nursing 2000; 15(5): 272–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24Taras, HL, Sallis, JF, Patterson, TL, Nader, PR, Nelson, JA. Television's influence on children's diet and physical activity. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 1989; 10(4): 176–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Lien, N, Friestad, C, Klepp, KI. Adolescents' proxy reports of parents' socioeconomic status: how valid are they? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2001; 55(10): 731–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26West, P, Sweeting, H, Speed, E. We really do know what you do: a comparison of reports from 11 year olds and their parents in respect of parental economic activity and occupation. Sociology 2001; 35(2): 539–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27Vereecken, C, Vandegehuchte, A. Measurement of parental occupation: agreement between parents and their children. Archives of Public Health 2003; 61: 141–9.Google Scholar