Abstract
We examined the frequency of adolescents' use of electronic media (ie, television/movie
watching, text messaging, talking on the telephone, listening to music with headphones,
and playing with hand-held games) at family meals and examined associations with demographic
characteristics, rules about media use, family characteristics, and the types of foods
served at meals using an observational, cross-sectional design. Data were drawn from
two coordinated, population-based studies of adolescents (Project Eating Among Teens
2010) and their parents (Project Families and Eating Among Teens). Surveys were completed
during 2009-2010. Frequent television/movie watching during family meals by youth
was reported by 25.5% of parents. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated
significantly higher odds of mealtime media use (P<0.05) for girls and older teens. In addition, higher odds of mealtime media use (P<0.05) were also seen among those whose parents had low education levels or were black
or Asian; having parental rules about media use significantly reduced these odds.
Frequent mealtime media use was significantly associated with lower scores on family
communication (P<0.05) and scores indicating less importance placed on mealtimes (P<0.001). Furthermore, frequent mealtime media use was associated with lower odds of
serving green salad, fruit, vegetables, 100% juice, and milk at meals, whereas higher
odds were seen for serving sugar-sweetened beverages (P<0.05). The ubiquitous use of mealtime media by adolescents and differences by sex,
race/ethnicity, age, and parental rules suggest that supporting parents in their efforts
to initiate and follow-through on setting mealtime media use rules may be an important
public health strategy.
Keywords
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Biography
J. A. Fulkerson is an associate professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
J. Berge is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Health, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
M. E. Eisenberg is an associate professor, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
D. Neumark-Sztainer is a professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
K. Loth is a post-doctoral fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; at the time of the study, she was a doctoral degree candidate and graduate research assistant, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Biography
M. Bruening is an assistant professor, School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, Arizona State University, Phoenix.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 21, 2013
Accepted:
October 10,
2013
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This project was supported by award no. R01HL093247 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
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Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
