Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Epidemiology and Population Health

The longitudinal association between early-life screen viewing and abdominal adiposity—findings from a multiethnic birth cohort study

International Journal of Obesity volume 45, pages 1995–2005 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Importance

Screen viewing in adults has been associated with greater abdominal adiposity, with the magnitude of associations varying by sex and ethnicity, but the evidence is lacking at younger ages. We aimed to investigate sex- and ethnic-specific associations of screen-viewing time at ages 2 and 3 years with abdominal adiposity measured by magnetic resonance imaging at age 4.5 years.

Methods

The Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes is an ongoing prospective mother–offspring cohort study. Parents/caregivers reported the time their child spent viewing television, handheld devices, and computer screens at ages 2 and 3 years. Superficial and deep subcutaneous and visceral abdominal adipose tissue volumes were quantified from magnetic resonance images acquired at age 4.5 years. Associations between screen-viewing time and abdominal adipose tissue volumes were examined by multivariable linear regression adjusting for confounding factors.

Results

In the overall sample (n = 307), greater total screen-viewing time and handheld device times were associated with higher superficial and deep subcutaneous adipose tissue volumes, but not with visceral adipose tissue volumes. Interactions with child sex were found, with significant associations with superficial and deep subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue volumes in boys, but not in girls. Among boys, the increases in mean (95% CI) superficial and deep subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue volumes were 24.3 (9.9, 38.7), 17.6 (7.4, 27.8), and 7.8 (2.1, 13.6) mL per hour increase in daily total screen-viewing time, respectively. Ethnicity-specific analyses showed associations of total screen-viewing time with abdominal adiposity only in Malay children. Television viewing time was not associated with abdominal adiposity.

Conclusion

Greater total screen-viewing time (and in particular, handheld device viewing time) was associated with higher abdominal adiposity in boys and Malay children. Additional studies are necessary to confirm these associations and to examine screen-viewing interventions for preventing excessive abdominal adiposity and its adverse cardiometabolic consequences.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The dataset supporting the conclusions of this article can be made available upon request and after approval by the GUSTO Executive Committee.

References

  1. World Health Organization. Childhood overweight and obesity. Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health. World Health Organization, 2016. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/.

  2. von Schnurbein J, Klenk J, Galm C, Berg S, Gottmann P, Steinacker JM, et al. Reference values and early determinants of intra-abdominal fat mass in primary school children. Horm Res Paediatr. 2011;75:412–22.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Haffner SM. Abdominal adiposity and cardiometabolic risk: do we have all the answers? Am J Med. 2007;120:S10–S6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Pischon T, Boeing H, Hoffmann K, Bergmann M, Schulze MB, Overvad K, et al. General and abdominal adiposity and risk of death in Europe. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:2105–20.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Shah RV, Murthy VL, Abbasi SA, Blankstein R, Kwong RY, Goldfine AB, et al. Visceral adiposity and the risk of metabolic syndrome across body mass index: the MESA Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2014;7:1221–35.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Sadananthan SA, Tint MT, Michael N, Aris IM, Loy SL, Lee KJ, et al. Association between early life weight gain and abdominal fat partitioning at 4.5 years is sex, ethnicity, and age dependent. Obesity. 2019;27:470–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Tint MT, Fortier MV, Godfrey KM, Shuter B, Kapur J, Rajadurai VS, et al. Abdominal adipose tissue compartments vary with ethnicity in Asian neonates: Growing Up in Singapore Toward Healthy Outcomes birth cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;103:1311–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lee MJ, Wu Y, Fried SK. Adipose tissue heterogeneity: implication of depot differences in adipose tissue for obesity complications. Mol Aspects Med. 2013;34:1–11.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Golan R, Shelef I, Rudich A, Gepner Y, Shemesh E, Chassidim Y, et al. Abdominal superficial subcutaneous fat: a putative distinct protective fat subdepot in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2012;35:640–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Vogelezang S, Gishti O, Felix JF, van der Beek EM, Abrahamse-Berkeveld M, Hofman A, et al. Tracking of abdominal subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat mass during childhood. The Generation R Study. Int J Obes. 2016;40:595–600.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Kindblom JM, Lorentzon M, Hellqvist A, Lönn L, Brandberg J, Nilsson S, et al. BMI changes during childhood and adolescence as predictors of amount of adult subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue in men: the GOOD Study. Diabetes. 2009;58:867–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Pandita A, Sharma D, Pandita D, Pawar S, Tariq M, Kaul A. Childhood obesity: prevention is better than cure. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2016;9:83–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Modi N, Thomas EL, Uthaya SN, Umranikar S, Bell JD, Yajnik C. Whole body magnetic resonance imaging of healthy newborn infants demonstrates increased central adiposity in Asian Indians. Pediatr Res. 2009;65:584–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Fletcher E, Leech R, McNaughton SA, Dunstan DW, Lacy KE, Salmon J. Is the relationship between sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic health in adolescents independent of dietary intake? A systematic review. Obes Rev. 2015;16:795–805.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Whitaker KM, Pereira MA, Jacobs DR Jr., Sidney S, Odegaard AO. Sedentary behavior, physical activity, and abdominal adipose tissue deposition. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017;49:450–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Byun W, Dowda M, Pate RR. Associations between screen-based sedentary behavior and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Korean youth. J Korean Med Sci. 2012;27:388–94.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Bernard JY, Padmapriya N, Chen B, Cai S, Tan KH, Yap F, et al. Predictors of screen viewing time in young Singaporean children: the GUSTO cohort. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017;14:112–21.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Robinson TN, Banda JA, Hale L, Lu AS, Fleming-Milici F, Calvert SL, et al. Screen media exposure and obesity in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2017;140:S97–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Cliff DP, McNeill J, Vella SA, Howard SJ, Santos R, Batterham M, et al. Adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years and associations with social-cognitive development among Australian preschool children. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:857.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Tremblay MS, Chaput JP, Adamo KB, Aubert S, Barnes JD, Choquette L, et al. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (0-4 years): an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:874.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Goh SN, Teh LH, Tay WR, Anantharaman S, van Dam RM, Tan CS, et al. Sociodemographic, home environment and parental influences on total and device-specific screen viewing in children aged 2 years and below: an observational study. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e009113.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Carson V, Janssen I. Associations between factors within the home setting and screen time among children aged 0-5 years: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:539.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Collings PJ, Kelly B, West J, Wright J. Associations of TV viewing duration, meals and snacks eaten when watching TV, and a TV in the bedroom with child adiposity. Obesity. 2018;26:1619–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Cox R, Skouteris H, Rutherford L, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Dell’ Aquila D, Hardy LL. Television viewing, television content, food intake, physical activity and body mass index: a cross-sectional study of preschool children aged 2-6 years. Health Promot J Austr. 2012;23:58–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. van Ekris E, Altenburg TM, Singh AS, Proper KI, Heymans MW, Chinapaw MJ. An evidence-update on the prospective relationship between childhood sedentary behaviour and biomedical health indicators: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2016;17:833–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Bosy-Westphal A, Booke C-A, Blöcker T, Kossel E, Goele K, Later W, et al. Measurement site for waist circumference affects its accuracy as an index of visceral and abdominal subcutaneous fat in a caucasian population. J Nutr. 2010;140:954–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Horan M, Gibney E, Molloy E, McAuliffe F. Methodologies to assess paediatric adiposity. Irish J Med Sci. 2015;184:53–68.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Sadananthan SA, Prakash B, Leow MKS, Khoo CM, Chou H, Venkataraman K, et al. Automated segmentation of visceral and subcutaneous (deep and superficial) adipose tissues in normal and overweight men. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2015;41:924–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Staiano AE, Harrington DM, Broyles ST, Gupta AK, Katzmarzyk PT. Television, adiposity, and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents. Am J Prev Med. 2013;44:40–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Stallmann-Jorgensen IS, Gutin B, Hatfield-Laube JL, Humphries MC, Johnson MH, Barbeau P. General and visceral adiposity in black and white adolescents and their relation with reported physical activity and diet. Int J Obes. 2007;31:622–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Padmapriya N, Aris IM, Tint MT, Loy SL, Cai S, Tan KH, et al. Sex-specific longitudinal associations of screen viewing time in children at 2-3 years with adiposity at 3-5 years. Int J Obes. 2019;43:1334–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Zilanawala A, Davis-Kean P, Nazroo J, Sacker A, Simonton S, Kelly Y. Race/ethnic disparities in early childhood BMI, obesity and overweight in the United Kingdom and United States. Int J Obes. 2015;39:520–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Kanter R, Caballero B. Global gender disparities in obesity: a review. Adv Nutr. 2012;3:491–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Soh SE, Chong YS, Kwek K, Saw SM, Meaney MJ, Gluckman PD, et al. Insights from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort study. Ann Nutr Metab. 2014;64:218–25.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Soh SE, Tint MT, Gluckman PD, Godfrey KM, Rifkin-Graboi A, Chan YH, et al. Cohort profile: Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) birth cohort study. Int J Epidemiol. 2014;43:1401–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Fogel A, Goh AT, Fries LR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Michael N, et al. Faster eating rates are associated with higher energy intakes during an ad libitum meal, higher BMI and greater adiposity among 4·5-year-old children: results from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. Br J Nutr. 2017;117:1042–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Sadananthan SA, Prakash B, Leow MK, Khoo CM, Chou H, Venkataraman K, et al. Automated segmentation of visceral and subcutaneous (deep and superficial) adipose tissues in normal and overweight men. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2015;41:924–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Conway JM, Ingwersen LA, Vinyard BT, Moshfegh AJ. Effectiveness of the US Department of Agriculture 5-step multiple-pass method in assessing food intake in obese and nonobese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003;77:1171–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Health Promotion Board. Energy and nutrient composition of food. Singapore: Health Promotion Board, 2011. https://focos.hpb.gov.sg/eservices/ENCF/.

  40. Lim HX, Toh JY, Tan KH, Chong Y-S, Yap F, Godfrey KM, et al. Validation of a semi-quantitative FFQ for 18-month-old toddlers: the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22:1990–2000.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/.

  42. Aris IM, Bernard JY, Chen LW, Tint MT, Pang WW, Soh SE, et al. Modifiable risk factors in the first 1000 days for subsequent risk of childhood overweight in an Asian cohort: significance of parental overweight status. Int J Obes. 2017;28:178.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Aris IM, Bernard JY, Chen L-W, Tint MT, Pang WW, Lim WY, et al. Infant body mass index peak and early childhood cardio-metabolic risk markers in a multi-ethnic Asian birth cohort. Int J Epidemiol. 2017;46:513–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Azur MJ, Stuart EA, Frangakis C, Leaf PJ. Multiple imputation by chained equations: what is it and how does it work? Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2011;20:40–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Moons KG, Donders RA, Stijnen T, Harrell FE Jr. Using the outcome for imputation of missing predictor values was preferred. J Clin Epidemiol. 2006;59:1092–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Saldanha-Gomes C, Heude B, Charles MA, de Lauzon-Guillain B, Botton J, Carles S, et al. Prospective associations between energy balance-related behaviors at 2 years of age and subsequent adiposity: the EDEN mother-child cohort. Int J Obes. 2017;41:38–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Falbe J, Rosner B, Willett WC, Sonneville KR, Hu FB, Field AE. Adiposity and different types of screen time. Pediatrics. 2013;132:e1497–505.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  48. Chaput J, Visby T, Nyby S, Klingenberg L, Gregersen NT, Tremblay A, et al. Video game playing increases food intake in adolescents: a randomized crossover study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93:1196–203.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Michaud I, Chaput JP, O’Loughlin J, Tremblay A, Mathieu ME. Long duration of stressful homework as a potential obesogenic factor in children: a QUALITY study. Obesity. 2015;23:815–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Chaput JP, Drapeau V, Poirier P, Teasdale N, Tremblay A. Glycemic instability and spontaneous energy intake: association with knowledge-based work. Psychosom Med. 2008;70:797–804.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Chaput J-P, Tremblay A. Acute effects of knowledge-based work on feeding behavior and energy intake. Physiol Behav. 2007;90:66–72.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Henson J, Edwardson CL, Morgan B, Horsfield MA, Bodicoat DH, Biddle SJ, et al. Associations of sedentary time with fat distribution in a high-risk population. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47:1727–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Tchernof A, Despres JP. Pathophysiology of human visceral obesity: an update. Physiol Reviews. 2013;93:359–404.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Karastergiou K, Smith SR, Greenberg AS, Fried SK. Sex differences in human adipose tissues—the biology of pear shape. Biol Sex Differ. 2012;3:13.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Fitzgerald SJ, Janorkar AV, Barnes A, Maranon RO. A new approach to study the sex differences in adipose tissue. J Biomed Sci. 2018;25:89.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Taverno Ross SE, Byun W, Dowda M, McIver KL, Saunders RP, Pate RR. Sedentary behaviors in fifth-grade boys and girls: where, with whom, and why? Child Obes. 2013;9:532–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Liu A, Byrne NM, Kagawa M, Ma G, Kijboonchoo K, Nasreddine L, et al. Ethnic differences in body fat distribution among Asian pre-pubertal children: a cross-sectional multicenter study. BMC Public Health. 2011;11:500.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. Tanaka S, Horimai C, Katsukawa F. Ethnic differences in abdominal visceral fat accumulation between Japanese, African-Americans, and Caucasians: a meta-analysis. Acta Diabetol. 2003;40:s302–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation under its Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC), Singapore—NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008; NMRC/TCR/012-NUHS/2014. Additional funding was provided by the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. KMG was supported by the National Institute for Health Research through the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Capacity-Building ENeASEA Project and Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013), projects EarlyNutrition and ODIN under grant agreement numbers 289346 and 613977. The authors would like to thank GUSTO study group, operational managers, research fellows, study coordinators, and data management team. The authors greatly appreciate the voluntary participation of all participants and the cooperation of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and National University Hospital. The GUSTO study group includes Allan Sheppard, Amutha Chinnadurai, Anne Eng Neo Goh, Anne Rifkin-Graboi, Anqi Qiu, Arijit Biswas, Bee Wah Lee, Birit F.P. Broekman, Boon Long Quah, Borys Shuter, Chai Kiat Chng, Cheryl Ngo, Choon Looi Bong, Christiani Jeyakumar Henry, Claudia Chi, Cornelia Yin Ing Chee, Yam Thiam Daniel Goh, Doris Fok, E Shyong Tai, Elaine Tham, Elaine Quah Phaik Ling, Evelyn Xiu Ling Loo, George Seow Heong Yeo, Helen Chen, Heng Hao Tan, Hugo P S van Bever, Iliana Magiati, Inez Bik Yun Wong, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Izzuddin Bin Mohd Aris, Jeevesh Kapur, Jenny L. Richmond, Jerry Kok Yen Chan, Joanna D. Holbrook, Joanne Yoong, Joao N. Ferreira, Jonathan Tze Liang Choo, Joshua J. Gooley, Krishnamoorthy Niduvaje, Kuan Jin Lee, Leher Singh, Lieng Hsi Ling, Lin Lin Su, Ling-Wei Chen, Lourdes Mary Daniel, Marielle V. Fortier, Mark Hanson, Mary Foong-Fong Chong, Mary Rauff, Mei Chien Chua, Melvin Khee-Shing Leow, Michael Meaney, Mya Thway Tint, Neerja Karnani, Ngee Lek, Oon Hoe Teoh, P. C. Wong, Paulin Tay Straughan, Pratibha Agarwal, Queenie Ling Jun Li, Rob M. van Dam, Salome A. Rebello, S. Sendhil Velan, Seng Bin Ang, Shang Chee Chong, Sharon Ng, Shiao-Yng Chan, Shu-E Soh, Sok Bee Lim, Stella Tsotsi, Chin-Ying Stephen Hsu, Sue Anne Toh, Swee Chye Quek, Victor Samuel Rajadurai, Walter Stunkel, Wayne Cutfield, Wee Meng Han, Wei Wei Pang, Yin Bun Cheung, and Yiong Huak Chan.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Jonathan Y. Bernard, Falk Müller-Riemenschneider

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Human Potential Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Natarajan Padmapriya, Mya-Thway Tint, Shirong Cai, Yap Seng Chong, Johan G. Eriksson & Michael S. Kramer

  2. Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Natarajan Padmapriya, Bozhi Chen, Seang Mei Saw, Mary Foong-Fong Chong & Falk Müller-Riemenschneider

  3. Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore

    Mya-Thway Tint, Suresh Anand Sadananthan, Navin Michael, Shirong Cai, Jia Ying Toh, Lynette Pei-Chi Shek, Yap Seng Chong, Peter D. Gluckman, Yung Seng Lee, Mary Foong-Fong Chong, Johan G. Eriksson, S. Sendhil Velan & Jonathan Y. Bernard

  4. Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore

    Carla Lanca & Seang Mei Saw

  5. KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Kok Hian Tan, Fabian Yap & Marielle V. Fortier

  6. Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Kok Hian Tan, Seang Mei Saw & Fabian Yap

  7. Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Lynette Pei-Chi Shek & Yung Seng Lee

  8. Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore

    Lynette Pei-Chi Shek & Yung Seng Lee

  9. Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Peter D. Gluckman

  10. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Fabian Yap

  11. Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Keith M. Godfrey

  12. NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK

    Keith M. Godfrey

  13. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Johan G. Eriksson

  14. Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland

    Johan G. Eriksson

  15. Institute for Bioengineering and Bioimaging, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore

    S. Sendhil Velan

  16. Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Michael S. Kramer

  17. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Michael S. Kramer

  18. Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), Université de Paris, Inserm, INRAE, Paris, France

    Jonathan Y. Bernard

  19. Berlin Institute of Health, Charite University Medical Centre, Berlin, Germany

    Falk Müller-Riemenschneider

Authors
  1. Natarajan Padmapriya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mya-Thway Tint
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Suresh Anand Sadananthan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Navin Michael
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bozhi Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Shirong Cai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jia Ying Toh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Carla Lanca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Kok Hian Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Seang Mei Saw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Lynette Pei-Chi Shek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Yap Seng Chong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Peter D. Gluckman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Yung Seng Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Fabian Yap
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Marielle V. Fortier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Mary Foong-Fong Chong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Keith M. Godfrey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Johan G. Eriksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. S. Sendhil Velan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Michael S. Kramer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Jonathan Y. Bernard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  23. Falk Müller-Riemenschneider
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natarajan Padmapriya.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

KMG and YSC report receiving reimbursement for speaking at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products and report being part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott Nutrition, Nestle, and Danone. No other disclosures were reported. The authors wish to confirm that there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Padmapriya, N., Tint, MT., Sadananthan, S.A. et al. The longitudinal association between early-life screen viewing and abdominal adiposity—findings from a multiethnic birth cohort study. Int J Obes 45, 1995–2005 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-00864-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-00864-9

Search

Advanced search

Quick links