Associations among Screen Time and Unhealthy Behaviors, Academic Performance, and Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents

Hanyi Yan, Rui Zhang, Theresa M. Oniffrey, Guoxun Chen, Yueqiao Wang, Yingru Wu, Xinge Zhang, Quan Wang, Lu Ma, Rui Li and Justin B. Moore
Additional contact information
Hanyi Yan: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Rui Zhang: College of Life Sciences, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China
Theresa M. Oniffrey: Cerus Consulting LLC, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Guoxun Chen: Department of Nutrition, The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Yueqiao Wang: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Yingru Wu: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Xinge Zhang: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Quan Wang: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Lu Ma: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Rui Li: School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
Justin B. Moore: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Department of Family & Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Screen time is negatively associated with markers of health in western youth, but very little is known about these relationships in Chinese youth. Middle-school and high-school students ( n = 2625) in Wuhan, China, completed questionnaires assessing demographics, health behaviors, and self-perceptions in spring/summer 2016. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether, after adjustment for covariates, screen time was associated with body mass index (BMI), eating behaviors, average nightly hours of sleep, physical activity (PA), academic performance, and psychological states. Watching television on school days was negatively associated with academic performance, PA, anxiety, and life satisfaction. Television viewing on non-school days was positively associated with sleep duration. Playing electronic games was positively associated with snacking at night and less frequently eating breakfast, and negatively associated with sleep duration and self-esteem. Receiving electronic news and study materials on non-school days was negatively associated with PA, but on school days, was positively associated with anxiety. Using social networking sites was negatively associated with academic performance, but positively associated with BMI z-score, PA and anxiety. Screen time in adolescents is associated with unhealthy behaviors and undesirable psychological states that can contribute to poor quality of life.

Keywords: screen time; unhealthy eating behaviors; academic performance; mental health; Chinese adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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