The Persistent Signal from Television Viewing in Childhood on Overweight and Obesity Throughout the Life Course

Abstract

Few studies address the association between television (TV) viewing in childhood and overweight/obesity across the life course. Among 30,921 mother-daughter dyads from the Nurses' Mothers' Cohort (2001) and the Nurses' Health Study II (1989 and 1991), the following information was collected: daughter's TV viewing and physical activity (PA) at ages 3─5 and 5─10, somatotype at ages 5 and 10, and body mass index at age 18 and in adulthood (ages 26─45). Using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models, TV viewing for ≥4 hours/day versus no TV at ages 3─5 was associated with odds ratios of overweight/obesity of 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 2.17) at age 5, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.14, 1.86) at age 10, 1.31 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.70) at age 18 and 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.59) in adulthood. A composite variable of high TV/low PA versus low TV/high PA at ages 3─5 was associated with odds ratios of overweight/obesity ranging from 3.22 (95% CI: 2.23, 4.65) at age 5 to 1.82 (95% CI: 1.36, 2.45) in adulthood. Similar findings appeared when the exposures were assessed at ages 5─10. Long hours of TV viewing in childhood alone and in combination with low PA were consistently associated with overweight/obesity throughout life.