The Interactions of Media Use, Obesity, and Suboptimal Health Status: A Nationwide Time-Trend Study in China

Obesity and suboptimal health status (SHS) have been global public health concerns in recent decades. A growing number of works have explored the relationships between media use and obesity, as well as SHS. This study aimed to examine the time trend of the associations between media use (including traditional media and new media) and obesity, as well as SHS. The data were derived from three national random samples of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), which was separately conducted in 2013, 2015, and 2017. In total, 34,468 respondents were included in this study, consisting of 16,624 males and 17,844 females, and the average age was 49.95 years old (SD = 16.72). It found that broadcast use and television use were positively associated with obesity and showed an increasing trend over time. Cellphone use emerged as a risk factor for obesity in 2017 and showed an increasing trend. By contrast, newspaper use, television use, and internet use were negatively associated with SHS, and television use showed a decreasing trend in the association with SHS, while internet and newspaper use showed an increasing trend. In conclusion, media use was positively associated with obesity while negatively associated with SHS. It showed a decreasing trend in the associations between traditional media use and obesity, while revealing an increasing trend in the associations between new media use and obesity, as well as SHS. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.