Do excessive internet use, television viewing and poor lifestyle habits affect low vision in school children?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine whether excessive internet use, television viewing and the ensuing poor lifestyle habits affect low vision in school children in a rapidly developing country. This is a cross-sectional study and 3000 school students aged between six and 18 years were approached and 2467 (82.2%) students participated. Of the studied school children 12.6 percent had low vision. Most of the low vision school children were in the 6-10 years age group and came from middle income backgrounds (41.8%; p = 0.008). A large proportion of the children with low vision spent ≥ 3 hours per day on the internet (48.2%; p< 0.001) and ≥ 3 hours reclining (62.4%; p < 0.001). A significantly smaller frequency of studied children with low vision participated in each of the reviewed forms of physical activity (p < 0.001) yet a larger proportion consumed fast food (86.8%; p < 0.001). Highly significant positive correlations were found between low vision and BMI, hours spent reclining and on the internet respectively. Blurred vision was the most commonly complained of symptom among the studied children (p < 0.001). The current study suggested a strong association between spending prolonged hours on the computer or TV, fast food eating, poor lifestyle habits and low vision.

Associations between Body Mass Index and Visual Impairment of School Students in Central China

“…However, they also spend less time than recommended on physical activities [39,40,41,42]. TV viewing is often accompanied with snacks or food and less outdoor activities, therefore tending to be related to lower vision and higher BMIs [43,44]. Our study showed that students with VI had lower levels of physical activity than children with normal vision, which was in line with other studies [40,41,45,46].…”

Internet Addiction, Fatigue, and Sleep Problems Among Adolescent Students: a Large-Scale Study

“…Moreover, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between internet addiction, fatigue and sleeping problems among young Turkish population. Bener et al 2011; Park et al 2013], physical inactivity [Bener et al 2010;Bener et al 2011;Kusss et al 2014;Griffiths 1996;Griffiths 1998] and adequate sleep [Canan et al 2013;Ekinci et al 2014;Bhandari et al 2017]. Furthermore, a Korean study reported a significant association between IA, sleep disturbances, fatigue symptoms, and fast food consumption [Kim et al 2010].…”

“…Several studies have documented adverse effects of IA among adolescents such as irregular dietary habits [Bener et al 2010;Bener et al 2011], physical inactivity, lack of adequate sleep [Choi et al 2009, Canan et al 2013, Ekinci et al 2014, increased depression, loneliness and social anxiety [Caplan 2007;Celik et al 2013]. These detrimental social and health effects are still being debated within the psychological, psychiatric and medical communities.…”

The role of stress and motivation in problematic smartphone use among college students

“…Amount of studies have been done focusing on addiction (Young, 2004), problematic use (Chen & Kim, 2013;Martinotti et al, 2011), or excessive use (Bener, Al-Mahdi, Vachhani, Al-Nufal, & Ali, 2010;Buckner, Castille, & Sheets, 2012) of the Internet and other technologies. Young (2004) has defined Internet addiction as an impulse-control disorder not involving an intoxicant, making it a 'behavioral addiction' akin to gambling addiction and unlike alcoholism.…”