Does spending more time on electronic screen devices determine the weight outcomes in obese and normal weight Saudi Arabian children?

OBJECTIVES: To gather data and investigate if ownership and duration of using electronic devices determines the weight status in an urban Saudi school-aged child. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between December 2015 and March 2016. A total of 1023 child were randomly selected, aged 9.00 to 11.99 years. The participants were divided into 2 groups (normal weight and obese), and further stratified by gender. As self-paced questionnaire was used to collect sedentary behaviors data, in addition to the anthropometric measurements and body fat composition of the participants. RESULTS: Hours spent watching TV/DVD/videos were not significantly different between the participating groups or both genders, be it during weekdays (p=0.75) or on weekends (p=0.93). Electronic device utilization hours were significantly different between the groups, specifically in boys. Obese children, particularly during weekdays, had higher utilization rates of tablets and mobile phones at p<0.01 in weekdays and weekends. The most popular electronic device owned was a tablet (67.1% among normal weight and 70.2% obese groups). This was followed by gaming consoles owned, predominantly by boys rather than girls. Ownership of a smartphone was significantly higher in the obese group p=0.01), especially in boys (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Using modern electronic screen devices has begun to replace TV viewing. Excessive use of internet, and watching electronic screen devices, especially mobiles and tablets, have been associated with the increasing risk of obesity in urban Saudi school-aged child.