The relationship between modern media and physical activity in western australian children owen carter senior research fellow centre for behavioural research.

the relationship between modern media and physical activity in western australian children

owen carter

senior research fellow

centre for behavioural research in cancer control

curtin university of technology

“sedentary activities such as watching television are strongly associated with excessive adiposity and displaces time for physically active pursuits”

Trost, S. (2005 p.73)

Discussion paper for the development of recommendations for children's and youths‘ participation in health promoting physical activity

Doctors say the results show the problem of excessive screen time is so widespread that children's use of the media must be considered a serious public health issue

…so engrossed in sedentary screen-based recreation that it reduces their involvement in sport, music and other leisure pursuits.

Her results, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, come from a study of 2750 children revealing big weight gains in children and adolescents despite improvements in physical fitness

although there had always been a significant percentage of children who watched a lot of TV, the proportion spending two hours or more watching the set or computer was rising

0.00

0.25

0.50

0.75

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1.75

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ayaverage hours spent using various modern media

amongst WA children

15 min

Gaming

24 min

Computer

2 hrs

4 min

TOTALSCREEN

USE

1hr

6 min

TV

20 min

Videos/DVDs

screen hours per day

14131211109876543210

60.2% 39.8%

total screen time per day

daily screen time vs. frequency of physical activity

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

physically active behaviours

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scre

en h

ours

per

day

r(1,858)=.065 p<.005 R2=.04%

2 hrs

t(1,858)=1.507 p=NS

<2 hrs 2+ hrs

9.88 10.81

meta-analysis: screen time and physical activity

• 39 independent samples• pooled N = 141 505• effect size between TV and PA:

-0.096“too small to be of clinical relevance”

• screen time alone unlikely to explain relationships between sedentary behaviour and health

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14 hrs1.5 hrs 2.5 hrs

SCHOOL

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n t

ime

5.5 hrs

“displacement hypothesis”(36%)

introduction of television (Norwich 1956)

introduction of television (Perth 1959)

1959 1960

TV - 16 hrs

Radio 7 hrs 42 min 54 min

Cinema 3 hrs 48 min

Sport 2 hrs 12 min 2 hrs 34 min

“Television’s most powerful rivals are outdoor play and unorganised social activities”

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 20100

1.0

2.0

3.0

scre

en h

ours

per

day

Norwich1956

Perth1961

WA2003

Australia2006

539 studies from 1949-2004

viewing times stable for past 50 years ~2 hrs/day

• CAPANS data consistent with international data• screen time remains intractably stable• screen time likely to displace other sedentary behaviours• children have time for both physical activity and screen time• human behaviour more complicated than single factors• we are not the first generation to idolise the past

conclusions

Ariel Rhiannon Carter(4 years)

Sage Tiberius Carter(3 years)