The affect of this electronic use has large influences on children's nutrition, sleep, and therefore obesity. Studies have shown that the more time spent on electronics and social media, the poorer and shorter qualiy of sleep they are likely to have. Not only sleep quality is affected, but the eating behaviors of children with more screen time causes a worse diet. Children tend to eat later into the night to help them thought late night screen time. The type of food is also affected in wanting to consume sugary foods to keep up their energy levels or consuming more fast food in order to get back to their screens.
Although a limitation to this study was its sample size and its reliability within a survey
(Cha et al., 2018) , they do find some interesting correlations. We need to be spending more time with the children of this country. We need to help them to have success in the future by eating healthy, having real relationships offline, and sleeping more to maintain an overall good health.
Cha EM, Hoelscher DM, Ranjit N, Chen B, Gabriel KP, Kelder S, et al. Effect of Media Use on Adolescent Body Weight. Prev Chronic Dis 2018;15:180206. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd15.180206
Holmberg, C., Berg, C., Hillman, T., Lissner, L., & Chaplin, J. E. (2018). Self-presentation in digital media among adolescent patients with obesity: Striving for integrity, risk-reduction, and social recognition. Digital health, 4, 2055207618807603. doi:10.1177/2055207618807603
This post is highly relevant in today's society where phone use and social media have become permanent appendages. Looking at social media use as an activity which usually involves sedentary postures is definitely concerning however the content of social media also has implications.
ReplyDeleteA 2013 study highlights the opposite dangers of social media use and "thinspiration" and/or "pro-anorexia." The content of certain Youtube videos were found to be platforms for the spread of harmful health misinformation. Although your articles touch on the time spend behind screens and its affect on nutrition and weight ~ we have to balance our sweeping claims about social media with its content as well.
Syed-Abdul, S., Fernandez-Luque, L., Jian, W. S., Li, Y. C., Crain, S., Hsu, M. H., ... & Liou, D. M. (2013). Misleading health-related information promoted through video-based social media: anorexia on YouTube. Journal of medical Internet research, 15(2).
This was an interesting read! I hadn't thought about the nutritional effects in children related to their screen time and that seems like a significant issue that requires attention. Do you think that the physiological effects of screen time on children's hormone levels would also be a detrimental issue? With their modified sleep schedules and diets, it seems like their dopamine and serotonin levels (among others) would be influenced as well.
ReplyDeleteThis post is also related to the issue of blue light and its detrimental effects on sleep. I found an interesting study where researchers proved how blue light suppresses the secretion of melatonin more significantly than other forms of light. They also discussed the association between exposure to light at night and cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. This is particularly alarming for children today as there isn't that much research on the effects of long-term screen time exposure and sleep in relation to the extreme screen time that recent generations spend compared to older generations.
ReplyDeleteInteresting study:
Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). Blue light has a dark side. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side