ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Digital Technology Use and BMI: Evidence From a Cross-sectional Analysis of an Adolescent Cohort Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Digital health interventions for promoting physical activity among adolescents: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- Smartphone Addiction Among Medical Students and Its Implications on Sleep Quality and BMI: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Association between internet usage and healthcare expenditure among middle-aged and older Chinese adults with chronic diseases: the role of self-rated health.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The association between weekend catch-up sleep and the reduction of obesity and overweight risk in adolescents with insufficient weekday sleep.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025Article
- The Association Between Internet Use and Co-occurring Health Care Needs: Cross-Sectional Study in China.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Internet usage elevates elderly obesity: evidence from a difference-in-differences analysis of the broadband China policy.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Playing for a Healthy Life: Integrating Mobile Exergames in Physical Education.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- 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
- Reduced Physical Activity and Increased Weight Status in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Impact of Digital Devices on Children's Health: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- Shorter self-reported sleep duration is associated with worse virtual spatial navigation performance in men.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A Pilot Study on the Association of Internet Use with Sports Practice and Sex in Italian Adolescents.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between Lifestyle Factors and Weight Gain among University Students in Japan during COVID-19 Mild Lockdown: A Quantitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The effects of hypothetical behavioral interventions on the 13-year incidence of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Article
- The Degree of Problematic Technology Use Negatively Affects Physical Activity Level, Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and Psychological State of Adolescents.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe use of digital technology such as mobile phones is ubiquitous in adolescents. However, excessive use may have adverse health effects, possibly partially mediated by disruptions to sleep.
objectiveThis study aims to assess the social predictors of digital technology use and their cross-sectional association with BMI z scores and being overweight in a large sample of adolescents.
methodsWe used baseline data from a subset of a large adolescent cohort from 39 schools across Greater London who participated in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (n=1473). Digital technology use included phone calls, internet use on mobile phones, and video gaming on any device. Multilevel regression was used to assess the associations between digital technology use and age-specific and sex-specific BMI z scores and being overweight (including obesity). Measurements were derived from height and weight, obtained by the Tanita BC-418 Body Composition Analyzer. We examined whether these associations were mediated by insufficient sleep.
resultsGenerally, participants with lower socioeconomic status reported more use of digital technology. Controlling for socioeconomic status, internet use on mobile phones for more than 3 hours per day was associated with higher BMI z scores (adjusted β=.30, 95% CI 0.11-0.48) and greater odds of being overweight (adjusted odds ratio 1.60, 95% CI 1.09-2.34), compared with low use (≤30 minutes). Similar associations were found between video gaming and BMI z scores and being overweight. The BMI z score was more strongly related to weekday digital technology use (internet use on mobile phones and video gaming) than weekend use. Insufficient sleep partly mediated the associations between digital technology use and BMI z scores (proportion of mediation from 8.6% to 17.8%) by an indirect effect.
conclusionsWe found an association between digital technology use and BMI in adolescents, partly mediated by insufficient sleep, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms may be multifactorial. Further research with longitudinal data is essential to explore the direction of the relationships.
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