Leisure Screen Time and Food Consumption among Brazilian Adults

Rayssa Cristina de Oliveira Martins, Thaís Cristina Marquezine Caldeira (), Marcela Mello Soares, Laís Amaral Mais and Rafael Moreira Claro
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Rayssa Cristina de Oliveira Martins: Public Health Postgraduate Program, Medical School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil
Thaís Cristina Marquezine Caldeira: Public Health Postgraduate Program, Medical School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil
Marcela Mello Soares: Public Health Postgraduate Program, Medical School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil
Laís Amaral Mais: Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (Idec), Sao Paulo 01139-000, Brazil
Rafael Moreira Claro: Nutrition Department, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Brazil

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Screen time, involving activities like watching television (TV), and using tablets, mobile phones, and computers (electronic devices), is associated with the consumption of unhealthy foods. This study aimed to analyze the association between prolonged leisure screen time and healthy and unhealthy food consumption indicators among Brazilian adults (≥18 years). Methods: Data from the National Health Survey (NHS), conducted in 2019 (n = 88,531), were used. Prolonged leisure screen time (screen time ≥ 3 h/day) was analyzed in three dimensions: watching TV; use of electronic devices; and total screen time (TV and electronic devices). Food consumption was analyzed in two dimensions: healthy (in natura and minimally processed foods) and unhealthy (ultra-processed foods). Poisson regression models were used to calculate prevalence ratios (crude and adjusted (PRa)) by sociodemographic factors (sex, age, schooling, income, area of residence, and race/color) and health factors (weight status, self-rated health, and presence of noncommunicable disease), to assess the association between prolonged screen time and food consumption indicators. Results: Among Brazilian adults, the prevalence of prolonged screen time was 21.8% for TV and 22.2% for other electronic devices for leisure. The highest frequency of watching TV for a prolonged time was observed among women, older adults, and those with a lower income and schooling. Prolonged use of electronic devices was more common among young adults and those with intermediate schooling and income. Prolonged screen time was associated with an unhealthy diet, due both to the higher consumption of unhealthy foods (PRa = 1.35 for TV, PRa = 1.21 for electronic devices, and PRa = 1.32 for both types) and the lower consumption of healthy foods (PRa = 0.88 for TV, PRa = 0.86 for electronic devices, and PRa = 0.86 for both). Conclusions: Prolonged screen time was negatively associated with the consumption of healthy foods and favored the consumption of unhealthy foods among Brazilian adults.

Keywords: television; screen time; food consumption; health surveillance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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