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
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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Ellis KJ, Abrams SA, Wong WW. Monitoring childhood obesity: assessment of the weight/height index. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;150:939–46. - PubMed
    1. Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, et al. A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:1138–45. - PubMed
    1. Laurson KR, Eisenmann JC, Welk GJ, Wickel EE, Gentile DA, Walsh DA. Combined influence of physical activity and screen time recommendations on childhood overweight. J Pediatr. 2008;153:209–14. - PubMed
    1. Seicean A, Redline S, Seicean S, et al. Association between short sleeping hours and overweight in adolescents: results from a US Suburban High School survey. Sleep Breath. 2007;11:285–93. - PubMed
    1. Cappuccio FP, Taggart FM, Kandala NB, et al. Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults. Sleep. 2008;31:619–26. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms