Adolescent television viewing and unhealthy snack food consumption: the mediating role of home availability of unhealthy snack foods. Issue 2 (30th November 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pearson, Natalie; Biddle, Stuart JH; Williams, Lauren; Worsley, Anthony; Crawford, David; Ball, Kylie
• Is Part Of: Public health nutrition. Volume 17:Issue 2(2014)
• Page Start: 317
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2012-11-30
• Subjects: Nutrition -- Periodicals; Nutrition policy -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980012005204
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-9800

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="abs1" sec-type="general"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To examine whether home availability of energy-dense snack foods mediates the association between television (TV) viewing and energy-dense snack consumption among adolescents.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs2" sec-type="general"> <title>Design</title> <p>Cross-sectional.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs3" sec-type="general"> <title>Setting</title> <p>Secondary schools in Victoria, Australia.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs4" sec-type="subjects"> <title>Subjects</title> <p>Adolescents (<italic>n</italic> 2984) from Years 7 and 9 of secondary school completed a web-based survey, between September 2004 and July 2005, assessing their energy-dense snack food consumption, school-day and weekend-day TV viewing and home availability of energy-dense snack foods.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs5" sec-type="results"> <title>Results</title> <p>School-day and weekend-day TV viewing were positively associated with energy-dense snack consumption among adolescent boys (<italic>β</italic> = 0·003, <italic>P</italic> < 0·001) and girls (<italic>β</italic> = 0·03, <italic>P</italic> < 0·001). Furthermore, TV viewing (school day and weekend day) were positively associated with home availability of energy-dense snack foods among adolescent boys and girls and home availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively associated with energy-dense snack food consumption among boys (<italic>β</italic> = 0·26, <italic>P</italic> < 0·001) and girls (<italic>β</italic> = 0·28, <italic>P</italic> < 0·001). Home availability partly mediated the association between TV viewing and energy-dense snack consumption.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs6" sec-type="conclusion"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>The results of the present study suggest that TV viewing has a significant role to play in adolescent unhealthy eating behaviours. Future research should assess the efficacy of methods to reduce adolescent energy-dense snack food consumption by targeting parents to reduce home availability of energy-dense foods and by reducing TV viewing behaviours of adolescents.</p> </sec> </abstract>