Associations of Health-Related Conversations and Mealtime Media Device Use Among Parent-Adolescent Dyads

Abstract

Objectives To determine how health-related conversations between parents and their adolescent children is associated with mealtime media device use by adolescents. Methods A sample of primarily Hispanic parents (n = 347; 43 ± 6.5 years; 89.3% female) of 6th, 7th or 8th grade adolescents enrolled in a parenting intervention focusing on the promotion of healthy nutrition and substance use prevention. Parents completed baseline surveys to self-report the frequency with which they had health-related conversations with their adolescent child (healthy eating, being physically active, adolescent's weight, adolescent weighing too much, eating differently to lose weight, exercising to lose weight), and the frequency with which the adolescent used media devices during mealtimes (television and movie watching, cellphone use or texting, handheld gaming devices, listening to music with headphones). Spearman's rank correlations were used to assess the associations between health-related communication and mealtime media device use. Results Reported conversations about healthy eating, being physically active, and general weight of the adolescent were not associated with reported use of media devices by adolescents during mealtimes. Having conversations related to the adolescent weighing too much was positively and significantly correlated with television/movie watching (r = 0.219; P < 0.0001), talking on a cellphone (r = 0.130; P < 0.05), using gaming devices (r = 0.140; P < 0.05), and listening to music with headphones (r = 0.136; P < 0.05). Having conversations about exercising to lose weight was also significantly correlated with television/movie watching during mealtimes (r = 0.137; P < 0.05). Conclusions Findings suggest that higher frequency of weight-related conversation is associated with higher usage of media devices during mealtimes. Whether parenting practices, parental concerns about their children's weight, and the home mealtime environment play a role on adolescent weight status in Hispanic households warrants further investigation. Funding Sources National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a Maternal Child Health Bureau Nutrition Training Grant.