Association between Times Spent on the Internet and Weight Status in Korean Adolescents

Abstract

Background: This study investigates whether the amount of time that Korean adolescents spend on the Internet per day is related to their weight status.
Methods: For this purpose, we analyzed data from the 2009 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey-V (KYRBWS-V), in which 72,399 students from the 7^th to the 12^th grade participated. We assessed the relationship between the amount of time spent on the Internet per day and body mass index (BMI) by using multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: For boys, the odds ratio (OR; confidence interval (CI): 95%) between becoming overweight and the amount of time spent on the Internet per day was 1.225 (1.042-1.441; P=0.014) for >4 hour. The ORs (CI: 95%) between becoming obese and time sp­ent on the Internet per day were 1.238 (1.096-1.399; P=0.001) for >2-≤3 hours, 1.208 (1.021-1.428; P=0.027) for >3-≤4 hours, and 1.303 (1.109-1.532; P=0.001) for >4 hours. For girls, the ORs (CI: 95%) between becoming overweight and time spent on the Internet per day were 1.265 (1.089-1.469; P=0.002) for >2-≤3 hours and 1.338 (1.080-1.659; P=0.008) for >3-≤4 hours. The ORs (CI: 95%) between becoming obese and amount of time spent on the Internet per day were 1.239 (1.014-1.513; P=0.036) for >2-≤3 hours and 1.541 (1.182-2.010; P=0.001) for >3-≤4 hours.
Conclusion: Korean adolescents who spend more time on the Internet are predisposed to weight-related problems, regard­less of age, time spent in physical exercise, mental stress, sleep duration, etc.