Direct Measurement of TV Viewing Time and Physical Activity in Children - A Pilot Study

The main aim of this study was to design an electronic device to objectively monitor Television (TV) viewing time in children. The second aim was to examine the relationship between TV viewing time and physical activate activity (PA). Seven children (mean ± SD, age, 10.7 ± 2.1 years; body mass, 35.7 ± 17 kg; height, 137.4 ± 12.3 cm) participated in this study. TV viewing time was directly measured for two consecutive days by a novel wireless electronic device, using Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology which was connected to a main electronic board that is designed to measure TV viewing time in minutes. PA was also measured, concurrently with TV viewing time measurement, by pedometers (Yamax Digiwalker SW-700) for 3 consecutive days. The preliminary results show that the average TV viewing time of children was 248 ± 188 min/day. Participants also recorded a mean of 10731 ± 3399 steps per day. The average TV viewing time was positively associated with the average steps in children, but not statistically significant (r= 0.74, p= 0.056). It is concluded that the current study produces a novel wireless electronic tool that can monitor TV viewing time in children. It is also concluded that high association between TV viewing time and PA was observed among children, although not statistically significant.

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