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David Martinez-Gomez, BSc; Jared Tucker, MSc; Kate A. Heelan, PhD; Gregory J. Welk, PhD; Joey C. Eisenmann, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(8):724-730.

Objective  To examine the effect of sedentary behavior on blood pressure (BP) in young children using different indicators of sedentariness.

Design  Cross-sectional study.

Setting  A rural Midwestern US community.

Participants  Children aged 3 to 8 years (N = 111).

Intervention  Adiposity was assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Objective measurements of sedentary activity were obtained from the accelerometers that participants wore continuously for 7 days. Measurements of television (TV) viewing, computer, and screen time (TV + computer) were obtained via parent report.

Main Outcome Measures  Systolic and diastolic BP.

Results  The sample spent a mean of 5 hours per day in sedentary activities, of which 1.5 hours were screen time. Accelerometer-determined sedentary activity was not significantly related to systolic BP or diastolic BP after controlling for age, sex, height, and percentage of body fat. However, TV viewing and screen time, but not computer use, were positively associated with both systolic BP and diastolic BP after adjusting for potential confounders. Participants in the lowest tertile of TV and screen time had significantly lower levels of systolic and diastolic BP than participants in the upper tertile.

Conclusions  Sedentary behaviors, particularly TV viewing and screen time, were associated with BP in children, independent of body composition. Other factors that occur during excessive screen time (eg, food consumption) should also be considered in the context of sedentary behavior and BP development in children.

Author Affiliations: Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames (Messrs Martinez-Gomez and Tucker and Dr Welk); Immunonutrition Research Group, Department of Metabolism and Nutrition, Institute of Food Science, Technology, and Nutrition, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain (Mr Martinez-Gomez); Human Performance Lab, University of Nebraska at Kearney (Dr Heelan); and Departments of Kinesiology and Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing (Dr Eisenmann).

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