The association between television viewing and childhood obesity: a national survey in Thailand.

Ruangdaraganon, Nichara; Kotchabhakdi, Nittaya; Udomsubpayakul, Umaporn; Kunanusont, Chaiyos; Suriyawongpaisal, Paibul

The association between television viewing and childhood obesity: a national survey in Thailand.

Date

2002-11-29

Authors

Ruangdaraganon, Nichara

Kotchabhakdi, Nittaya

Udomsubpayakul, Umaporn

Kunanusont, Chaiyos

Suriyawongpaisal, Paibul

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between television viewing and obesity among Thai children. DESIGN: A one-stage cross-sectional national survey. SETTING: National communities in Thailand. SUBJECTS: Four thousand one hundred and ninety-seven children aged 6 to 12 years old. RESULTS: By using the new national growth reference as a normative data, 262 (6.2%) children in this survey were obese. According to the caregivers, 62 per cent of children watched television I to 3 hours per day. Children who spent more than 3 hours per day watching television were more likely to be obese than the children who watched television less with the odd ratio of 1.8 (95% confidence interval = 1.2-2.8). CONCLUSION: With a one-stage design for determining the association between television viewing and childhood obesity, Thai school age children who watched television more than 3 hours per day were more likely to be obese with statistical significance.

Description

Chotmaihet Thangphaet.

Citation

Ruangdaraganon N, Kotchabhakdi N, Udomsubpayakul U, Kunanusont C, Suriyawongpaisal P. The association between television viewing and childhood obesity: a national survey in Thailand. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand. 2002 Nov; 85 Suppl 4(): S1075-80