Saudi Med J
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Multicenter Study
Does spending more time on electronic screen devices determine the weight outcomes in obese and normal weight Saudi Arabian children?
To gather data and investigate if ownership and duration of using electronic devices determines the weight status in an urban Saudi school-aged child. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between December 2015 and March 2016. A total of 1023 child were randomly selected, aged 9.00 to 11.99 years. The participants were divided into 2 groups (normal weight and obese), and further stratified by gender. A self-paced questionnaire was used to collect sedentary behaviors data, in addition to the anthropometric measurements and body fat composition of the participants. ⋯ Using modern electronic screen devices has begun to replace TV viewing. Excessive use of internet, and watching electronic screen devices, especially mobiles and tablets, have been associated with the increasing risk of obesity in urban Saudi school-aged child.