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Comparative Study
. 2011 Aug 15;7(4):337-42.
doi: 10.5664/JCSM.1182.

Caffeine and screen time in adolescence: associations with short sleep and obesity

Amy A Drescher  1 , James L Goodwin, Graciela E Silva, Stuart F Quan
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Caffeine and screen time in adolescence: associations with short sleep and obesity

Amy A Drescher et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the associations between sleep duration and obesity incidence and risk factors among pre-adolescents and adolescents.

Design: Cross-sectional study of a community based cohort

Setting: The Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea follow-up study (TuCASA) cohort.

Participants: 319 Caucasian and Hispanics between 10-17 years.

Main outcome: Parent-reported sleep duration and BMI z-score.

Outcome measures: Surveys of electronic screen time, dietary and caffeine intake, exercise and sleep habits by parents, and anthropometric measures.

Results: Parent-reported total sleep time (TST) was inversely associated with BMI z-score, but not significantly correlated with any of the examined nutritional variables or exercise components. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with significantly lower parent-reported TST and higher BMI z-score. Parent-reported TST was inversely related to electronic screen time and caffeine use, but these findings were differentially related to age. Caffeine consumption was associated with decreasing parent-reported TST primarily in older adolescents. Electronic screen time was associated with lower parent-reported TST in younger adolescents.

Conclusions: Hispanic ethnicity and parental reports of TST were found to be the most closely associated with BMI z-score. Decreased TST and increased caffeine intake and screen time may result in higher obesity risk in the adolescent population.

Keywords: Hispanic; Obesity; adolescent; caffeine; sleep; video games.

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