Soraya Alves Marreiro, Isabela Araújo Linhares Castro, Samir Gabriel Vasconcelos Azevedo, Thais Rodrigues de Albuquerque, Yenny Constanza Torres Rojas, Thaís Aquino Carneiro, Mariana Cavalcante Martins, Fabiane do Amaral Gubert
preschool children who exceed two hours of screen time per day showed higher intake of sweets.
OBJECTIVES: to analyze television and smartphone screen time and sweet consumption among preschool children in a capital city in northeastern Brazil.
METHODS: a cross-sectional study was conducted with 175 caregivers of children aged 1 to 5 years enrolled in six Early Childhood Education Centers. Sociodemographic data, screen time, and frequency of consumption of sweets, snacks, and soft drinks were collected and analyzed using non-parametric tests (p<0.05).
RESULTS: excessive smartphone use (>two hours/day) was significantly more frequent in children aged 3 to 4 years (Odds Ratio=2.26; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.09-4.67; p=0.02), of mixed race/color (p<0.01), and not enrolled in full-time education (p<0.01). Limits on candy consumption reduced the chance of excessive smartphone screen time (Odds Ratio=0.32; p=0.023).
CONCLUSIONS: preschool children who exceed two hours of screen time per day showed higher intake of sweets.