Prevalence of excessive screen time and TV viewing among Brazilian adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The prevalence of excessive screen time and TV viewing was high among Brazilian adolescents. Intervention are needed to reduce the excessive screen time among adolescents.

A Novel Mixed Methods Approach to Assess Children’s Sedentary Behaviors

“…Watching YouTube videos, playing online games like Roblox or Fortnite, watching movies (on tablets or laptops), and talking with friends (online via social media) were activities most frequently reported by participants. This trend, showing a decreased amount of TV viewing with increasingly higher usage of other screen-based devices is consistent with results from a recent review of studies (Schaan et al, 2019). Across all photos, drawings, and voice recordings, girls reported using these devices more frequently than boys, except for playing video games, suggesting that for boys video gaming was their preferred screen-based activity.…”

Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

“…On the contrary, negative or antisocial disorders may develop in children due to the excessive use of electronic media [52]; however, if family members monitor and regulate children's behavior by developing rules and participating in activities, this problem can be avoided. It is known that if parents themselves are role models, regulating their own technology-related behaviors, this can also help their children establish controlled use [55]. In addition, parents should encourage the active participation of their children, playing video games with them, since the involvement will help to regulate the use and to know the characteristics of the different video games, in addition to promoting adaptable online activities, reducing the use of a "sedentary" screen for all [52].…”

“…There is evidence to suggest that AVGs have the potential to increase habitual physical activity among children and young people compared to sedentary video games [38,40]. However, it is important to explore the use of AVGs as a strategy to reduce physical inactivity, and subsequently examine the impact of their use on a series of health, behavior and time-of-use indicators, as the literature points out and reinforces that excessive screen use is associated with harmful health effects [55]. Moreover, the recommendation of physical activity for children and young people is 60 minutes or more daily, involving a variety of activities, and in this sense, using AVGs encourages the reduction of a sedentary lifestyle and is more desirable when compared to the use of just a sedentary screen [56,57].…”

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Brazilian children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…2021;46:e21301 some caution due to the greater concentration of studies focusing on the south and southeast regions, while few studies have been conducted in the central west and north regions, geographic disparities in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among young populations in the same country have already been pointed out by the literature [52][53][54] . In Brazil, there are marked socio-cultural, economic and urbanization inequalities between geographic regions, which impacts on young people's lifestyles, with emphasis on access and choices of dietary practices, sedentary behavior time and physical activity 55,56 . It is also noteworthy that, economically, the south and southeast regions contribute 71% of the national gross domestic product (GDP) 57 , thus boosting the predisposition for an eventual obesogenic environment.…”