Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 May;8(3):A61.
Epub 2011 Apr 15.

Physical activity, watching television, and the risk of obesity in students, Texas, 2004-2005

Adriana Pérez  1 , Deanna M Hoelscher, Andrew E Springer, H Shelton Brown, Cristina S Barroso, Steven H Kelder, Brian C Castrucci
Affiliations

Physical activity, watching television, and the risk of obesity in students, Texas, 2004-2005

Adriana Pérez et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2011 May.

Abstract

Introduction: The epidemic of childhood obesity has been well-documented. Prevalence of obesity among students in Texas is higher than the US prevalence. Our objective was to understand the combined influence of physical activity and television viewing on weight status of students in Texas.

Methods: Students in grades 4, 8, and 11 participated in the School Physical Activity and Nutrition survey during the 2004-2005 academic year. Multinomial logistic regression tested the associations between both being overweight and obese (vs underweight/normal weight) and the combined influence of physical activity and watching television, adjusting for age, grade, race/ethnicity, language spoken at home, and percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the school. We used 5 physical activity indicators to describe students' physical activity.

Results: Girls who participated in less than 3 days of exercise per week to strengthen or tone muscles and watched 2 hours or less per day of television had increased odds of being obese (adjusted odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.0) compared with girls who participated in 3 or more days per week of exercise to strengthen or tone muscles and watched 2 hours or less per day of television. Boys in our study who watched 3 or more hours per day of television and did not meet physical activity recommendations had increased odds of being obese in all of our 5 physical activity indicators.

Conclusion: Although results varied by physical activity indicator and sex, our findings provide further evidence for the combined effect of high television watching and low physical activity engagement on the risk for obesity in children and adolescents.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. High body mass index for age among US children and adolescents, 2003-2006. JAMA. 2008;299(20):2401–2405. - PubMed
    1. Hoelscher DM, Day RS, Lee ES, Frankowski RF, Kelder SH, Ward JL, et al. Measuring the prevalence of overweight in Texas schoolchildren. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(6):1002–1008. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pérez A, Hoelscher DM, Brown HS, III, Kelder SH. Differences in food consumption and meal patterns in Texas school children by grade. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007;4(2):A23. http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/apr/06_0061.htm . - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. JAMA. 2010;303(3):242–249. - PubMed
    1. 2008 physical activity guidelines for Americans. US Department of Health and Human Services; 2008. [Accessed January 22, 2009]. http://www.health.gov/physical activityguidelines/guidelines/default.asp... .

Publication types