Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26820144›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

The Associations of Youth Physical Activity and Screen Time with Fatness and Fitness: The 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

Yang Bai, Senlin Chen, Kelly R Laurson, Youngwon Kim, Pedro F Saint-Maurice, Gregory J Welk

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
11.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Associations of maternal stress with children's weight-related behaviours: a systematic literature review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2017
    Pooled it
  4. Initial Findings of a Multicomponent School Health Intervention in Rural Appalachia: The Greenbrier CHOICES Project.Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · 2020
    Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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  9. Combined association between physical activity and sedentary behavior on the cardiometabolic risk score in students.Revista paulista de pediatria : orgao oficial da Sociedade de Pediatria de Sao Paulo · 2026
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Prolonged exposure to leisure screen time notably accelerates biological aging: Evidence from observational studies and genetic associations.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Observational
  14. Lower Musculoskeletal Fitness Among Youth with Disabilities, Ages 6 to 15 Years.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Yang BaiDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
Senlin ChenDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
Kelly R LaursonSchool of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, United States of America.
Youngwon KimMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Pedro F Saint-MauriceDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
Gregory J WelkDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
Iowa State University · USIllinois State University · USMRC Epidemiology Unit · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_U106179473Medical Research Council MC_UU_12015/3
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the associations of youth physical activity and screen time with weight status and cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents, separately, utilizing a nationally representative sample. A total of 1,113 participants (692 children aged 6-11 yrs; 422 adolescents aged 12-15 yrs) from the 2012 NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey. Participants completed physical activity and screen time questionnaires, and their body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness (adolescents only) were assessed. Adolescents completed additional physical activity questions to estimate daily MET minutes. Children not meeting the screen time guideline had 1.69 times the odds of being overweight/obese compared to those meeting the screen time guideline, after adjusting for physical activity and other control variables. Among adolescent, screen time was significantly associated with being overweight/obese (odds ratio = 1.82, 95% confidence interval: 1.06-3.15), but the association attenuated toward the borderline of being significant after controlling for physical activity. Being physically active was positively associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, independent of screen time among adolescents. In joint association analysis, children who did not meet physical activity nor screen time guidelines had 2.52 times higher odds of being overweight/obese than children who met both guidelines. Adolescents who did not meet the screen time guideline had significantly higher odds ratio of being overweight/obese regardless of meeting the physical activity guideline. Meeting the physical activity guideline was also associated with cardiorespiratory fitness regardless of meeting the screen time guideline in adolescents. Screen time is a stronger factor than physical activity in predicting weight status in both children and adolescents, and only physical activity is strongly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents.

Indexed as

ExercisePhysical FitnessSedentary BehaviorAdolescentBody Mass IndexBody WeightChildFemaleHumansMaleOverweightSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID26820144
PMCPMC4731469
OpenAlexW2264581609

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.