Screen time is associated with dietary intake in overweight Canadian children ★★★

• We examined cross-sectional association between screen time and dietary intake.
• Longer screen time (≥ 2 h/d) was associated with poor food choices in youth.
• Poor dietary quality included higher energy, lower fiber and vegetables & fruit.
• This association was particularly evident in overweight children.

ObjectivesTo describe the relationship between screen time and dietary intake among children, and to examine this association in relation to body weight.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis of 630 Canadian children aged 8–10 years with at least one obese biological parent. Measurements included body mass index (BMI), screen time (television, video game, computer), physical activity (accelerometer over 7 days), and diet (three 24-hour recalls for the calculation of the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (HEI-C)). Multivariate linear regression models were used to describe the relationship between screen time (≥ 2 h/d vs. < 2 h/d) and intake of nutrients and foods among healthy weight and overweight/obese children.ResultsThe overall median [interquartile range] daily screen time was 2.2 [2.4] hours and 43% of children had a BMI of ≥ 85th percentile. Longer screen time above the recommendation (≥ 2 h/d) was associated with higher intake of energy (74 kcal, SE = 35), lower intake of fiber (− 0.6 g/1000 kcal, SE = 0.2) and vegetables & fruit (− 0.3 serving/1000 kcal, SE = 0.1) among all participants and with higher estimates in the overweight subgroup. An overall lower HEI-C (− 1.6, SE = 0.8) was also observed among children with screen time of ≥ 2 h/d. Among children of < 85th BMI percentile, longer screen time was associated with lower intake of vegetables & fruit (− 0.3 serving/1000 kcal, SE = 0.1) only.ConclusionScreen time is associated with less desirable food choices, particularly in overweight children.