A national longitudinal study of the association between hours of TV viewing and the trajectory of BMI growth among US children.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between hours of TV viewing and the trajectory of BMI growth from Kindergarten to Grade 5 among a national longitudinal cohort of 7,334 US children.


METHODS
Multilevel growth curve modeling was used to estimate children's BMI growth trajectories as a function of hours of TV viewing over time while controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, SES, birth weight, and baseline age.


RESULTS
Hours of TV viewing were significantly positively associated with the acceleration of BMI growth from Kindergarten to Grade 5.


CONCLUSIONS
Hours spent watching TV may be contributing to the recent dramatic increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children.
Danner
Fred W
FW
Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA. fdanner@uky.edu
D000367:Age Factors; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States