TV Viewing and Physical Activity Are Independently Associated with Metabolic Risk in Children: The European Youth Heart Study

BACKGROUND: TV viewing has been linked to metabolic-risk factors in youth. However, it is unclear whether this association is independent of physical activity (PA) and obesity. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We did a population-based, cross-sectional study in 9- to 10-y-old and 15- to 16-y-old boys and girls from three regions in Europe (n = 1,921). We examined the independent associations between TV viewing, PA measured by accelerometry, and metabolic-risk factors (body fatness, blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, inverted high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glucose, and insulin levels). Clustered metabolic risk was expressed as a continuously distributed score calculated as the average of the standardized…

• H
  Hjerteforeningen
• SO
  Sundhed og Sygdom, Det Frie Forskningsråd
• ET
  Eesti Teadusfondi
• SU
  Syddansk Universitet
• MR
  Medical Research Council