title: Adolescent television viewing and unhealthy snack food consumption: the mediating role of home availability of unhealthy snack foods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether home availability of energy-dense snack foods mediates the association between television (TV) viewing and energy-dense snack consumption among adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary schools in Victoria, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adolescents (n 2984) from Years 7 and 9 of secondary school completed a web-based survey, between September 2004 and July 2005, assessing their energy-dense snack food consumption, school-day and weekend-day TV viewing and home availability of energy-dense snack foods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  School-day and weekend-day TV viewing were positively associated with energy-dense snack consumption among adolescent boys (β = 0·003, P < 0·001) and girls (β = 0·03, P < 0·001). Furthermore, TV viewing (school day and weekend day) were positively associated with home availability of energy-dense snack foods among adolescent boys and girls and home availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively associated with energy-dense snack food consumption among boys (β = 0·26, P < 0·001) and girls (β = 0·28, P < 0·001). Home availability partly mediated the association between TV viewing and energy-dense snack consumption.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study suggest that TV viewing has a significant role to play in adolescent unhealthy eating behaviours. Future research should assess the efficacy of methods to reduce adolescent energy-dense snack food consumption by targeting parents to reduce home availability of energy-dense foods and by reducing TV viewing behaviours of adolescents.
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.
authors.forename: Stuart J H
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Biddle
authors.affiliation: 3 Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: 2 Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Worsley
authors.affiliation: 2 Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: 2 Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ball
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D062410:Snacks; D013690:Television