Relationship of electronic device usage with obesity and speech delay in children

• Authors: Borajy Shazan , Albkhari Dania , Turkistani Huda , Altuwairiqi Reham , Aboalshamat Khalid , Altaib Tahir , Almehman Wijdan
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Background. Smart device usage has become favorable among children worldwide. Objectives. The study aimed to identify the relation between usage of electronic devices with obesity and speech delay. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 452 healthy children (18 months to 14 years old) from pediatric clinics of the Ministry of Health (MOH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected from June to July 2018. Analysis included linear regression, logistic regression, chi-square, t-test and ANOVA. Results and discussion. Male participants totalled 57.7% and females 42.3% (mean age 82.27 months) (SD = 40.18). Mean duration of usage: 3.1 hours (SD = 2.58) per day. Among toddlers only, 31.1% had speech delay. The results showed no relation between the duration of smart device usage and obesity (p-value = 0.904) or speech delay (p-value = 0.538). Duration of usage was not influenced by gender or parents’ marital status; however, children who live with both parents spent less time on smart devices than others. The smart device most used was a tablet (47%), and the main usage was primarily entertainment (60.8%) and games (47.6%). Only 57.8% reported having parental supervision. Among children, 59.3% eat chips and 48.9% eat candy as snacks during usage. Among parents, 71.5% believe devices reduce children’s physical activities, 64.8% believe that the smart device is a problem, 62.5% of parents should control time of use, and 60.5% believe that their children are attached to the devices. Conclusions. There is no association between the duration of using smart devices and obesity, nor speech delay. Future directions and recommendations should be discussed.

Keywords

EN

obesity; child; electronics.

• Publisher: Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Medycyny Rodzinnej i Lekarzy Rodzinnych
• Journal: Family Medicine & Primary Care Review
• Year: 2019
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 93-97

Contributors

author

Borajy Shazan

author

Albkhari Dania

author

Turkistani Huda

author

Altuwairiqi Reham

author

Aboalshamat Khalid

author

Altaib Tahir

author

Almehman Wijdan

References

• Strasburger VC, Hogan MJ, Mulligan DA, et al. Children, adolescents, and the media. Pediatrics 2013; 132(5): 958–961.
• Rideout VJ, Foehr UG, Roberts DF. Generation M2: media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park (CA): Kaiser Family Foundation;2016.
• O’Keeffe GS, Clarke-Pearson K. The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics 2011; 127(4): 800–804.
• Strasburger VC, Jordan AB, Donnerstein E. Health effects of media on children and adolescents. Pediatrics 2010; 125(4): 756–767.
• Aftosmes-Tobio A, Ganter C, Gicevic S, et al. A systematic review of media parenting in the context of childhood obesity research. BMCPublic Health 2016; 16(1): 320, doi: doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2981-5.
• Al-Agha AE, Nizar FS, Nahhas AM. The association between body mass index and duration spent on electronic devices in children and adolescents in Western Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J 2016; 37(4): 436–439.
• Al-Ghamdi SH. The association between watching television and obesity in children of school-age in Saudi Arabia. J Fam Community Med 2013; 20(2): 83–89.
• Matheson DM, Killen JD, Wang Y, et al. Children’s food consumption during television viewing. Am J Clin Nutr 2004; 79(6): 1088–1094.
• Hancox RJ, Poulton R. Watching television is associated with childhood obesity: but is it clinically important? Int J Obes 2006; 30(1):171–175.
• Liang T, Kuhle S, Veugelers PJ. Nutrition and body weights of Canadian children watching television and eating while watching television.Public Health Nutr 2009; 12(12): 2457–5463.
• Bickham DS, Blood EA, Walls CE, et al. Characteristics of screen media use associated with higher BMI in young adolescents. Pediatrics 2013; 131(5): 935–941.
• Byeon H, Hong S. Relationship between television viewing and language delay in toddlers: evidence from a Korea national crosssectional survey. PLoS ONE 2015; 10(3): e0120663, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120663.
• Linebarger DL, Walker D. Infants’ and toddlers’ television viewing and language outcomes. Am Behav Sci 2005; 48(5): 624–645.
• Christakis DA, Zimmerman FJ, DiGiuseppe DL, et al. Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics 2004; 113(4): 708–713.
• Kliegman RM, Stanton BMD, Geme SJ, et al., eds. Nelson textbook of pediatrics. 20th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2015.
• Rideout VJ, Foehr UG, Roberts DF. Generation M 2: media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park (CA): Kaiser Family Foundation;2010.
• American Academy of Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics announces new recommendations for children’s media use. Advocacy & Policy 2016. Available from URL: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx.