Predictors of screen viewing time in young Singaporean children: the GUSTO cohort

Jonathan Y Bernard, Natarajan Padmapriya, Bozhi Chen, Shirong Cai, Kok Hian Tan, Fabian Yap, Lynette Shek, Yap-Seng Chong, Peter D Gluckman, Keith M Godfrey, Michael S Kramer, Seang Mei Saw, Falk Müller-Riemenschneider, Jonathan Y Bernard, Natarajan Padmapriya, Bozhi Chen, Shirong Cai, Kok Hian Tan, Fabian Yap, Lynette Shek, Yap-Seng Chong, Peter D Gluckman, Keith M Godfrey, Michael S Kramer, Seang Mei Saw, Falk Müller-Riemenschneider

Abstract

Background: Higher screen viewing time (SVT) in childhood has been associated with adverse health outcomes, but the predictors of SVT in early childhood are poorly understood. We examined the sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of total and device-specific SVT in a Singaporean cohort.

Methods: At ages 2 and 3 years, SVT of 910 children was reported by their parents. Interviewer-administered questionnaires assessed SVT on weekdays and weekends for television, computer, and hand-held devices. Multivariable linear mixed-effect models were used to examine the associations of total and device-specific SVT at ages 2 and 3 with predictors, including children's sex, ethnicity, birth order, family income, and parental age, education, BMI, and television viewing time.

Results: At age 2, children's total SVT averaged 2.4 ± 2.2 (mean ± SD) hours/day, including 1.6 ± 1.6 and 0.7 ± 1.0 h/day for television and hand-held devices, respectively. At age 3, hand-held device SVT was 0.3 (95% CI: 0.2, 0.4) hours/day higher, while no increases were observed for other devices. SVT tracked moderately from 2 to 3 years (r = 0.49, p < 0.0001). Compared to Chinese children, Malay and Indian children spent 1.04 (0.66, 1.41) and 0.54 (0.15, 0.94) more hours/day watching screens, respectively. Other predictors of longer SVT were younger maternal age, lower maternal education, and longer parental television time.

Conclusions: In our cohort, the main predictors of longer children's SVT were Malay and Indian ethnicity, younger maternal age, lower education and longer parental television viewing time. Our study may help target populations for future interventions in Asia, but also in other technology-centered societies.

Trial registration: This ongoing study was first registered on July 1, 2010 on NCT01174875 as. Retrospectively registered.

Keywords: Childhood; Cohort studies; Computer; Hand-held device; Sedentary lifestyle; Television.

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All participants signed written informed consent at enrolment. The study received ethical approval from the National Healthcare Group Domain Specific Review Board and the SingHealth Centralised Institutional Review Board.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

LS, YSC and KMG have received reimbursement for speaking at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products. They are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott Nutrition, Nestle, and Danone. All other authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the GUSTO study participants followed up to 2 and 3 years

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