The Persistent Signal from Television Viewing in Childhood on Overweight and Obesity Throughout the Life Course.

The Persistent Signal from Television Viewing in Childhood on Overweight and Obesity Throughout the Life Course. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Oct 15;: Authors: Tahir MJ, Willett WC, Forman MR Abstract Few studies address the association between television (TV) viewing in childhood and overweight/obesity across the life course. Among 30,921 mother-daughter dyads from the Nurses' Mothers' Cohort (2001) and the Nurses' Health Study II (1989 and 1991), the following information was collected: daughter's TV viewing and physical activity (PA) at ages 3─5 and 5─10, somatotype at ages 5 and 10, and body mass index at age 18 and in adulthood (ages 26─45). Using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models, TV viewing for ≥4 hours/day versus no TV at ages 3─5 was associated with odds ratios of overweight/obesity of 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 2.17) at age 5, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.14, 1.86) at age 10, 1.31 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.70) at age 18 and 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.59) in adulthood. A composite variable of high TV/low PA versus low TV/high PA at ages 3─5 was associated with odds ratios of overweight/obesity ranging from 3.22 (95% CI: 2.23, 4.65) at age 5 to 1.82 (95% CI: 1.36, 2.45) in adulthood. Similar findings appeared when the exposures were assessed at ages 5─10. Long hours of TV viewing in childhood alone and in combination with low PA were consistently associated with overweight/obesity throughout life. PMID: 3032...
Source: Am J Epidemiol - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: Am J Epidemiol Source Type: research