Screen Exposure in 4-Year-Old Children: Association with Development, Daily Habits, and Ultra-Processed Food Consumption

Gabriela M. D. Gomes, Rafaela C. V. Souza (), Tamires N. Santos and Luana C. Santos
Additional contact information
Gabriela M. D. Gomes: Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, MG, Brazil
Rafaela C. V. Souza: Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, MG, Brazil
Tamires N. Santos: Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, MG, Brazil
Luana C. Santos: Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, MG, Brazil

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the association between child development, daily habits, and ultra-processed food consumption with screen exposure in 4-year-old children. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire that included sociodemographic data, the child’s daily habits, and screenings for child development and eating habits. The daily screen exposure time (cell phone, computer, television, and/or tablet) was measured in minutes and classified as inadequate if >60 min. We conducted bivariate analyses and a generalized linear model. Overall, 362 caregivers–children pairs were investigated. The average screen time per child was 120 min (IQR: 120), and most of the children (71%) showed inadequate screen time for the age group. The longest screen time was associated with the lowest score in child development (β = −0.03; p = 0.01), an increased habit of eating in front of screens (β = 0.34; p < 0.001), and the highest score of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) (β = 0.05; p = 0.001). The sample showed a high prevalence of inadequate screen time, and this has been associated with the lowest score in child development, an increased habit of eating in front of screens, and the highest score of UPFs.

Keywords: screen exposure; screen time; daily screen time; child development; food behavior; ultra-processed foods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/11/1504/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/11/1504/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:11:p:1504-:d:1519721

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().