title: Screen exposure and body mass index status in 2- to 11-year-old children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure the relationship between screen exposure and obesity in a large, urban sample of children and to examine whether the relationship is moderated by sociodemographics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We asked parents of 11 141 children visiting general pediatrics clinics if the child had a television (TV) in the bedroom and/or watched more than 2 hours of TV/computer daily. We measured children's height and weight, then used logistic regression to determine whether screen exposure indicators predicted obesity (body mass index ≥ 85th percentile) and interacted with race/ethnicity, sex, age, and health care payer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Having a TV in the bedroom predicted obesity risk (P = .01); however, watching TV/computer for more than 2 hours a day did not (P = 0.54). There were no interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asking whether a child has a TV in the bedroom may be more important than asking about duration of screen exposure to predict risk for obesity.
authors.affiliation: 1Children's Health Services Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hendrix
authors.forename: Aaron E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Downs
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: computers; electronic health records; obesity; overweight; television