The Relationship Between TV/Computer Time and Adolescents' Health-Promoting Behavior

Abstract

Television and computers provide significant benefits for learning about the world. Some studies have linked excessive television (TV) watching or computer game playing to disadvantage of health status or some unhealthy behavior among adolescents. However, the relationships between watching TV/playing computer games and adolescents adopting health promoting behavior were limited. This study aimed to discover the relationship between time spent on watching TV and on leisure use of computers and adolescents' health promoting behavior, and associated factors. This paper used secondary data analysis from part of a health promotion project in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. A cross-sectional design was used and purposive sampling was conducted among adolescents in the original project. A total of 660 participants answered the questions appropriately for this work between January and June 2004. Findings showed the mean age of the respondents was 15.0 ± 1.7 years. The mean numbers of TV watching hours were 2.28 and 4.07 on weekdays and weekends respectively. The mean hours of leisure (non-academic) computer use were 1.64 and 3.38 on weekdays and weekends respectively. Results indicated that adolescents spent significant time watching TV and using the computer, which was negatively associated with adopting health-promoting behaviors such as life appreciation, health responsibility, social support and exercise behavior. Moreover, being boys, being overweight, living in a rural area, and being middle-school students were significantly associated with spending long periods watching TV and using the computer. Therefore, primary health care providers should record the TV and non-academic computer time of youths when conducting health promotion programs, and educate parents on how to become good and healthy electronic media users.

Development and validation of the short-form adolescent health promotion scale

“…Previous studies have shown that skipping breakfast and spending more than four hours each day watching TV and playing computer games among adolescents are negatively associated with adolescent health status (e.g., obesity) and with health-related behaviors, including school achievement [12, 13, 30]. We therefore focused on three indicators of unhealthy lifestyle: (1) being overweight or obese, (2) frequently skipping breakfast, and (3) excessive time spent watching TV or playing computer games.…”

“…We defined time spent playing on the computer as “except for school requirements (e.g., assignments) or searching for academic information, on weekdays I used the computer for playing games or chatting, in both home and cyber café settings”. We defined TV watching by the statement, “except for school requirements, the time between turning on and turning off the TV set on weekdays” [13]. …”

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong association between sedentary life patterns (i.e., reduced physical activity and spending too much time watching television, sitting in front of the computer screen, or playing computer games) and health in youth [8, 9, 13]. There is also an abundance of literature showing that adolescents who perform regular physical activity experience lower levels of morbidity and mortality, even after adjustment for comorbid illnesses [6, 14, 15].…”

Kırsal ve kentsel alanlarda yaşayan 11 ve 13 yaşlarındaki öğrencilerin sağlık durumları ve sağlık davranışları arasındaki farklılıklar: Türkiye sağlık davranışları araştırması 2006 sonuçları

“…Di¤er taraftan ülkemizin de içinde bulundu¤u farkl› ülkelerde yap›lan araflt›rmalarda kentsel alanda yaflayan çocuklar›n daha fazla TV izledi¤i gösterilmifltir (26,29,47,51). Tersine, k›rsal alandaki çocuk-lar aras›nda TV izleme sürelerinin daha uzun oldu¤unu gös-teren yay›nlar da vard›r (54,55). Uzun süre televizyon izleme ile fliflmanl›k ve besin de¤eri düflük, enerji oran› yüksek yiyeceklerin tüketilmesi aras›nda iliflki oldu¤u çok say›da araflt›rmac› taraf›ndan gösterilmifltir (2,5,7,54,56,57).…”

A Study of Health-Promoting Behaviors of Medical Sciences Students of Islamic Azad University of Sari, Iran 2013

“…Health-promoting activities seek to strengthen the host through a variety of approaches in the form of health education, lifestyle modification, behavior change, environment modification, and nutrition intervention (10). Health-promoting behavior is defined as the first level of primary prevention, beginning with healthy adolescents who seek to improve their lifestyles to achieve better health (11).…”