ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2021
Media use trajectories and risk of metabolic syndrome in European children and adolescents: the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies Exploring the Link Between Physical Inactivity and Indicators of Childhood Overweight/Obesity and Metabolically Unhealthy Obesity Risk in Western Countries.Current obesity reports · 2026Pooled it
- Screen Time, Nature, and Development: Baseline of the Randomized Controlled Study "Screen-free till 3".Developmental science · 2025Trial
- Associations between time spent with digital media and body image among European adolescents.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Digital Media, Genetics, and Risk for ADHD Symptoms in Children: A Longitudinal Study.Pediatrics open science · 2026Article
- Measuring screen time among adolescents: test-retest reliability of HBSC questionnaire items across two countries.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Unraveling Metabolic Syndrome in Youth: The Obesity Epidemic's Hidden Complication.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Urban-Rural Differences in the Association Between Internet Use Trajectories and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents: Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- Study protocol: Mixed-methods evaluation of a cluster-randomized trial on preventing dysregulated screen use in children under 3.PloS one · 2025Article
- Process evaluation of a Germany-wide complex intervention to prevent dysregulated screen time in under threes: a RE-AIM-approach.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- XbaI polymorphism in the APOB gene and its association with increased cholesterol in children and adolescents: Ouro Preto study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Association of ability to rank sweet and fat taste intensities with sweet and fat food propensity ratios of children, adolescents and adults: the I.Family study.European journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- [Consequences of digital media on the health of children and adolescents with a focus on the consumption of unhealthy foods].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Review
- Dual career in the workplace: co-creation of a conceptual framework by employers and employee-sportspersons incorporating corporate social responsibility and brand alignment.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Screen Time and Its Health Consequences in Children and Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Adherence to 24-h movement guidelines in Spanish schoolchildren and its association with insulin resistance: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Self-Reported Sedentary Behavior and Metabolic Syndrome among Children Aged 6-14 Years in Beijing, China.Nutrients · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedia use may influence metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children. Yet, longitudinal studies are scarce. This study aims to evaluate the longitudinal association of childhood digital media (DM) use trajectories with MetS and its components.
methodsChildren from Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden participating in the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort were examined at baseline (W1: 2007/2008) and then followed-up at two examination waves (W2: 2009/2010 and W3: 2013/2014). DM use (hours/day) was calculated as sum of television viewing, computer/game console and internet use. MetS z-score was calculated as sum of age- and sex-specific z-scores of four components: waist circumference, blood pressure, dyslipidemia (mean of triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol
results10,359 children and adolescents (20,075 total observations, 50.3% females, mean age = 7.9, SD = 2.7) were included. DM exposure increased as children grew older (from 2.2 h/day at 2 years to 4.2 h/day at 16 years). Estonian children showed the steepest DM increase; Spanish children the lowest. The prevalence of MetS at last follow-up was 5.5%. Increasing media use trajectories were positively associated with z-scores of MetS (slope: β = 0.54, 95%CI = 0.20-0.88; intercept: β = 0.07, 95%CI = 0.02-0.13), and its components after adjustment for puberty, diet and other confounders. Children with increasing DM trajectories above mean had a 30% higher risk of developing MetS (slope: OR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.04-1.62). Boys developed steeper DM use trajectories and higher risk for MetS compared to girls.
conclusionsDigital media use appears to be a risk factor for the development of MetS in children and adolescents. These results are of utmost importance for pediatricians and the development of health policies to prevent cardio-metabolic disorders later in life.
trial registrationISRCTN, ISRCTN62310987 . Registered 23 February 2018- retrospectively registered.
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