Prevalence of screen time use and its relationship with obesity, sleep quality, and parental knowledge of related guidelines: A study on children and adolescents attending Primary Healthcare Centers in the Makkah Region

Alqarni, Turki; Alshamrani, Mohammed A; Alzahrani, Alhussain; Alrefaie, Asmaa M; Balkhair, Ohoud H; AL-Saegh, Samar Z.

doi:10.4103/jfcm.jfcm_335_21

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…When compared to children aged less than three years, children aged three to six years had significantly more screen time. This finding is consistent with previous research indicating that children’s screen time increases as they get older [ 22 , 23 ]. The three- to six-year-old age group also began using screens later and had higher screen permission, indicating a progressive trend of increasing screen exposure with age.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…This could be a contributing factor to the relatively good level of knowledge about screen time regulation (76.4%, n = 344) observed among the parents in this study. This finding is similar to that detected by another Saudi study in the Makkah region, which found that 77.3% of respondents were aware of the maximum amount of time children are permitted to use electronic devices, and according to their overall knowledge score, 78.7% had sufficient awareness about the amount of screen time children might have [22]. Moreover, the present study found that parents with government jobs exhibited higher levels of knowledge.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Parents’ Knowledge On, Attitude Toward, and Practice of Screen Time Exposure Regulation of Their Children Under Six Years of Age in Western Region, Saudi Arabia

Alkalash,

Alshamrani,

Alharthi

et al. 2023

Cureus

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Background: Children and teenagers spend a significant amount of time watching screens, which include cellphones, tablets, gaming consoles, televisions, and computers. Regulation of screen time exposure is a crucial matter to avoid the health drawbacks of prolonged screen exposure. Objectives: Assessment of parents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of regulation screen exposure among their children under six years old in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 451 parents of under-six-year-old children in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by using an online questionnaire, and a link to the survey was distributed to respondents via electronic platforms as well as to primary healthcare visitors. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: This study included 451 parents from the Saudi western region. Most of the participating parents were female (64.3%), aged 25-34 years (34.8%), married (86.0%), and had completed their university education (56.1%). This study found that 76.4% of parents had adequate knowledge, 73.1% had a positive attitude, and 69.8% had adequate practice of screen time regulation for their children under six years of age. Factors associated with their good knowledge include being married (p = 0.002), having government work (p = 0.020), having children who use mobile phones, and having children attend kindergarten (p <0.001) for each. Furthermore, highly educated parents showed more positive attitudes than others (p-value = 0.004). Finally, better practice of screen time regulation was noted among highly educated parents (p = 0.011), who had government jobs (p = 0.031), and children who went to kindergarten (p = 0.031) for their children. Conclusion: In this study, parents of under-six-year-old children possessed overall good knowledge and a positive attitude, but their actual practice of screen time regulation for their children was low, specifically in terms of parental supervision of the content that children watch, their care of children’s regular exercise, and using devices as a method for motivating or punishing their children. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics like education, occupation, and marital status played a role in this issue. Healthcare professionals such as pediatricians, family doctors, general practitioners, and others can caution parents of young children under six years old about the harmful consequences of excessive screen use. Further longitudinal research is needed to understand the long-term effects of screen time exposure among young children. From this study, further qualitative research would aid in a greater understanding of the impact of parental knowledge, attitude, and practice on their children’s use of screen time.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Parents’ Knowledge On, Attitude Toward, and Practice of Screen Time Exposure Regulation of Their Children Under Six Years of Age in Western Region, Saudi Arabia

Alkalash,

Alshamrani,

Alharthi

et al. 2023

Cureus

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Screen time and smartphone multitasking: the emerging risk factors for mental health in children and adolescents

Jin

Chen

et al. 2023

J Public Health (Berl.)

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Association between late bedtime and obesity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis

Hu,

Wu,

Yao

et al. 2024

Front. Pediatr.

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BackgroundShort sleep duration has been related to obesity in children and adolescents. However, it remains unknown whether late bedtime is also associated with obesity and whether the association is independent of sleep duration. A meta-analysis was performed to address this issue.MethodsIn order to accomplish the aim of the meta-analysis, a comprehensive search was conducted on databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to identify observational studies. The cutoff to determine late bedtime in children in this meta-analysis was consistent with the value used among the included original studies. As for obesity, it was typically defined as a body mass index (BMI) > 95th percentile of age and sex specified reference standards or the International Obesity Task Force defined age- and gender-specific cut-off of BMI. The Cochrane Q test was employed to evaluate heterogeneity among the included studies, while the I2 statistic was estimated. Random-effects models were utilized to merge the results, considering the potential impact of heterogeneity.ResultsTweleve observational studies with 57,728 participants were included. Among them, 6,815 (11.8%) were obese. Pooled results showed that late bedtime reported by the participants or their caregivers was associated with obesity (odds ratio [OR]: 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16–1.39, p < 0.001; I2 = 0%). Subgroup analysis showed consistent results in studies with (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.04–1.70, p = 0.02) and without adjustment of sleep duration (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.14–1.41, p < 0.001). Further subgroup analysis also showed that the association was not significantly affected by study location, design, age of the participants, or diagnostic methods for obesity (p for subgroup difference all >0.05).ConclusionLate bedtime is associated with obesity in children and adolescents, which may be independent of sleep duration.

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Prevalence of screen time use and its relationship with obesity, sleep quality, and parental knowledge of related guidelines: A study on children and adolescents attending Primary Healthcare Centers in the Makkah Region

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

Parents’ Knowledge On, Attitude Toward, and Practice of Screen Time Exposure Regulation of Their Children Under Six Years of Age in Western Region, Saudi Arabia

Parents’ Knowledge On, Attitude Toward, and Practice of Screen Time Exposure Regulation of Their Children Under Six Years of Age in Western Region, Saudi Arabia

Screen time and smartphone multitasking: the emerging risk factors for mental health in children and adolescents

Association between late bedtime and obesity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis

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