HALO Director Dr. Mark Tremblay is co-author on an paper, “Television Time among Brazilian Adolescents: Correlated Factors are Different between Boys and Girls,” that was recently published in The Scientific World Journal. Citation details and a summary of the paper are below.

Diego Augusto Santos Silva, Mark Stephen Tremblay, Eliane Cristina de Andrade Gonçalves, Roberto Jerônimo dos Santos Silva. Television Time among Brazilian Adolescents: Correlated Factors are Different between Boys and Girls. The Scientific World Journal Volume 2014 (2014), Article ID 794539, 9 pages.

ABSTRACT: Objective. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of excess television time and verify correlated factors in adolescent males and females. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 2,105 adolescents aged from 13 to 18 years from the city of Aracaju, Northeastern Brazil. Television time was self-reported, corresponding to the time spent watching television in a typical week. Several correlates were examined including age, skin color, socioeconomic status, parent education, physical activity level, consumption of fruits and vegetables, smoking status, alcohol use, and sports team participation. Results. The prevalence excess television time (≥2 hours/day) in girls and boys was 70.9% and 66.2%, respectively. Girls with low socioeconomic status or inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables were more likely to have excess television time. Among boys, those >16 years of age or with black skin color were more likely to have excess television time. Conclusions. Excess television time was observed in more than two-thirds of adolescents, being more evident in girls. Correlated factors differed according to sex. Efforts to reduce television time among Brazilian adolescents, and replace with more active pursuits, may yield desirable public health benefits.

Click here to read the paper in full for free.