Adolescence Obesity Risk Increases with Increased Screen Time: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a critical time period in human life. Adolescence is associated with reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors. In the current systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis, we evaluated the association between screen time and obesity risk among adolescents. Methods: A systematic search from PubMed, Embase and Scopus electronic databases through September 2021 was performed. Studies that evaluated the association between screen time and obesity among adolescents up to September 2021 were retrieved. A total of 64 qualified studies were included into meta-analysis. Results: The results of the two-class meta-analysis showed that adolescents at the highest category of screen time were 1.4 times more likely to develop obesity (OR=1.393; CI=1.264, 1.536; P <0.001). The results of subgrouping identified that continent was the possible heterogeneity source. No evidence of non-linear association between increased screen time and obesity risk among adolescents was observed (P-nonlinearity= 0.278). Conclusion: For the first time, the current systematic review and meta-analysis revealed a positive association between screen time and obesity among adolescents without any dose-response evidence.Registration: The protocol of the current work has been registered in the PROSPERO system (Registration number: CRD42021233899).