Screen Time & Eating Habits
Article by Bryony Scutt
With the rise of technology and our fast-paced lifestyles, mobile phones and other devices have become companions to our everyday routines. There are many applications for screens in our modern lifestyles; whether your phone is the alarm that gets you up in the morning; you frequently scroll through social media; or you watch TV at the end of a long day before getting into bed, it all adds up.
When considering a healthy lifestyle, one often considers diet, and physical activity; but how often do we consider the toll that passive screen usage is having on our health?
Some disclaimers
A note on the evidence: there is currently no solid evidence on the long-term impact on our health because this is a pressing issue, unfolding now and most research focuses on television use as opposed to portable devices simply because they are a newer technology (1,2).
Current recommendations and guidance are given as precautionary measures, based on associations not causative effects. This is because, in the best interest of public health, it is unanimously agreed that decreasing screen time and its associated factors can only serve to improve long term health outcomes.
With the rise of remote working and the great opportunities that come from being connected online, there is of course screen time usage that is important for our modern daily routines. However, knowledge of the potential risks is important and the type of usage that could be managed better is that which is termed ‘recreational screen time’. This defines time spent viewing screen content during leisure time and does not include time for work or studying (3).
Current trends
Emerging from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, technology usage has significantly changed. Research led by the University of Leeds found that more than half of participants use screens more often than they did before the pandemic (4). This of course includes use for work, however half of those interviewed said they were spending more time on screens for leisure activities. Common perceptions among these participants were that screen usage has negative connotations for both physical and mental health, to name a few: eye strain, fatigue, and social anxiety (4).
It is also important to consider screen usage amongst children because the early years of life are formative years for development. In 2019, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health undertook research which found that in a typical day, children and young people between the ages of 11 and 24 spend an average of 2.5 hours on a computer/ laptop or tablet, 3 hours on their phone and 2 hours watching TV. 88% of which said they felt that screen time negatively affected their sleep, with an average usage of 1.5 hours before falling asleep and 35% said it affected their mood/mental health negatively (2).
The evidence
It is important to note that many of the potential connections between screen time and adverse health can be explained by the loss of opportunities for healthy activities; screen usage displaces the time that could be used for socialising, exercising, and sleeping for example (2).
Excessive screen time has been associated with increased sedentary lifestyle habits (very low levels of energy expenditure by sitting and lying) and as a result, there is a growing consensus that excessive usage can indirectly have detrimental effects (6). This is because screen time, particularly passive time sitting watching something on a device, replaces time engaging in an activity requiring more movement (3). Sedentary behaviour is an independent risk factor for health, morbidity (having a disease or symptoms of a disease), and mortality no matter how much physical activity someone partakes in throughout the day. Periods of sitting following food consumption such as watching TV after dinner, has also been theorised to affect mortality due to its effect on metabolism and there is also acknowledgement that viewing promotes risk factors such as snacking or greater exposure to food advertising (3).
Furthermore, devices emit blue light which has been evidenced to powerfully suppress the secretion of melatonin, a hormone affecting circadian rhythm. When this is disrupted by night-time screen use, people tend to sleep for shorter periods of time which is linked to negative health effects (5). Therefore, the general advice is to avoid looking at bright screens up to two or three hours before bed.
As previously mentioned, public perceptions often consider how screens can affect physical and mental health. However, there is little recognition that mealtimes are more often accompanied with screen usage, and this can have profound effects on eating behaviours (1).
How it affects our eating behaviours
Recreational screen time can affect eating behaviours in several ways:
Location of the screens – whether screens are placed in bedrooms, at the dinner table etc.
Whether there is activity involved – this may distract from consumption
The content consumed – content can generate emotions which distract from consumption, especially strong emotions such as sadness or joy (1)
Using screens during mealtimes has been found to reduce diet quality through consumption of more high-fat, high-sugar foods and fewer fruit and vegetables, particularly for children and adolescents. This can be explained by repetitive marketing of calorie dense, unhealthy foods (6).
Studies have also found that screen usage during mealtimes can distract attention away from the food and towards the screen, which also works to disrupt cues within the body regulating food intake. Most studies have looked at the effect of television viewing, however phone screens are a lot more portable and hence more likely to affect throughout the day (1).
It is also important to consider the effect celebrity influencers and others' eating habits can have on our relationship with food (8). Particularly in younger adults, social norms online have been found to have an important influence on changing health behaviours (7).
Summary
Many of the activities we partake in throughout the day now involve some kind of screen usage, and some consideration of the quantity which is recreational could be beneficial for leading a healthier lifestyle. It is common knowledge that screen time can affect our perceived mood and mental health, however attention is also owed to how excessive usage may be affecting our eating patterns.
Take away messages
When considering your own consumption, consider the time of day you are using screens recreationally and whether this interferes with mealtimes. Also consider what type of content you are viewing and how this may be affecting you.
There is currently no solid adult guidance, however the World Health Organisation has recommendations for physical activity and screen time usage for children up to the age of five (2,8).
When encouraging children to reduce their screen time, empathising rather being antagonistic by being open and honest will always be better than restricting (2).
Public health interventions should promote active lifestyles and consider both physical activity and screen time during leisure time.
This blog post was written by Bryony Scutt, a Clinical Nutrition and Public Health master’s student at University College London. Bryony also has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The University of Birmingham and has really enjoyed moving towards the nutrition field and looks forward to a future career helping people to improve their relationship with food. Bryony also enjoys experimenting with new recipes, getting outside in nature, and trying out new sports. You can find Bryony on LinkedIn here.
References:
(1) Tabares-Tabares, M., Aznar. L. A. M., Aguilera-Cervantes. V. G., León-Landa. E., and López-Espinoza, A., 2022. Screen use during food consumption: Does it cause increased food intake? A systematic review. Appetite. vol., 171. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666322000198?casa_token=iJQg1PEQoxMAAAAA:DKAc9Wxn85bFHaUQRGPgxc1jqfO7v9dT8CX-jprYI4-5pxhGUr4RaQF0IrRBMlQMVFox6QsbXvo
(2) RCPCH. The health impacts of screen time – a guide for clinicians and parents, Available at: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/health-impacts-screen-time-guide-clinicians-parents
(3) Bianni, L.G.B, Palència, L., Puig-Ribera, A., Bartoll, X., and Pérez, K., 2020. Does adult recreational screen-time sedentary behaviour have an effect on self-perceived health? RSPH Public Health in Practice. vol.,1 Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535220300549
(4) Leeds University, 2022. Screen use soars among UK adults post lockdown. Available at: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-coronavirus/news/article/5059/screen-use-soars-among-uk-adults-post-lockdown
(5) Harvard Medical School, 2020. Blue light has a dark side. Harvard Health Publishing. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
(6) Shqair, A. Q., Pauli, L. A., Costa, V. P. P., Cenci, M., and Goettems, M. L., 2019. Screen time, dietary patterns and intake of potentially cariogenic food in children: A systematic review. Journal of Dentistry. vol., 86. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300571219301289?via%3Dihub
(7) Friedman, V. J., Wright, C. J. C., Molennar, A., McCaffrey, T., Brennan, L., and Lim, M. S. C., 2022. The Use of Social Media as a Persuasive Platform to Facilitate Nutrition and Health Behaviour Change in Young Adults: Web-Based Conversation Study. JMIR Publications. vol., 24. Available at: https://www.jmir.org/2022/5/e28063
(8) World Health Organisation. To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more