An exploratory study of time spent with interactive technology and body mass among young adults

Young adulthood (18-25 years old) is a risky time period for the development of obesity and is an understudied population in terms of identifying weight-related determinates. Previous research has identified correlations between Body Mass Index (BMI) and sedentary behaviors, including television, among children and adolescents. Young adults have an affinity for interactive technologies (i.e., email, cell phones, social networking and video chat), but at present no studies have investigated the association between BMI and interactive technologies. A major contribution from this study was the conceptualization of time spent with interactive technology as the dependent variable and Body Mass Index and the independent variable. Young adults (N = 802) reported their height, weight, and weekly time spent with interactive technology. Obese participants reported significantly more time spent with email, social networking, video chat, and total technology time than their non-obese peers. It is proposed that obese young adults use interactive technologies more frequently than non-obese young adults because interactive technologies facilitate unobtrusive interactions and a mechanism to control social interactions.