A Preliminary Study on the Relationship Between Parental Internet Addiction and Their Children’s Body Mass Index

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 33 Sayı: 6, 445 - 461, 08.01.2025

Verda Tunalıgil , Gülsen Meral

Öz

Objectıve: The complex interrelationship between obesity and digital dependency requires comprehensive research to guide targeted population-level intervention strategies. This study investigates the intricate link between parental internet addiction (IA) and body mass index (BMI) percentiles of children and adolescents. The original research aims to contribute to the academic field on an under-researched topic.
Methods: Research included 109 participants aged 7–20. A sample size of 108 was predetermined for 150 participants at a 95% confidence level. Ethics committee approval was obtained in June 2018. Statistical analysis explored the links between children’s BMI percentiles and factors including age, gender, children/adolescents and parents’ IA scores, parents’ educational status. Descriptive statistics included mean, SD, median, frequency, percentage, min/max values. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk Tests were used for normality. Comparative tests for quantitative data included Kruskal-Wallis, Independent Samples, Student’s t-Test, ANOVA. Qualitative data were analyzed using Pearson’s χ², Fisher-Freeman-Halton Exact Tests. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess relationships between the quantitative variables. The significance level was set at p<0.050.
Results: The mean±SD age was 13.8±2.8 years. In terms of children and adolescents’ IA scores, 2 had IA, 46 were at risk. Percentile categories for BMI showed that 3 were underweight, 62 had normal/healthy weight, 39 were overweight, 5 were obese. Significant correlations were found between children/adolescents’ age and BMI percentiles (p=0.002), higher in younger children (p=0.011). Across children and adolescents’ two BMI percentile categories, statistical significance was observed with fathers’ IA scores (p=0.029).
Conclusion: Despite the limitations of generalizability in research, potential associations were implicated. Additional investigation into the potential role of younger age as a risk factor for childhood obesity may be merited. The study hints at possible transmission of unhealthy behaviors across generations. Health care providers are crucial in educating about healthy lifestyle choices, conducting risk assessments, and implementing, monitoring, evaluating public health interventions. The study was conducted as a pioneering and exploratory investigation. The promising outcomes of the research warrant further investigation to comprehend its full implications, especially in regard to familial influences on health behaviors.

Anahtar Kelimeler

pediatric obesity, maternal obezite, parenting, digital technology, internet addiction disorder, public health

Etik Beyan

CRediT AUTHOR STATEMENT First & Corresponding Author: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing - Original Draft, Writing - Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision. Second & Senior Author: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT Authors hereby declare that they have no competing or personal financial interests, funding, employment benefits that may inappropriately influence or affect the integrity of this work. They certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any institution or entity with any financial or nonfinancial interest in the subject matter or scientific content discussed in this original article.

Destekleyen Kurum

This research received no specific grant or financial support from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or nonprofit sectors.

Teşekkür

Authors appreciate participants’ collaboration in this scientific research.

Ebeveyn İnternet Bağımlılığı ile Çocuklarının Vücut Kütle İndeksi Arasındaki İlişki Üzerine Bir Ön Çalışma

Öz

Amaç: Obezite ve dijital bağımlılık arasındaki karmaşık ilişki, hedeflenmiş nüfus düzeyindeki müdahale stratejilerine rehberlik edecek kapsamlı araştırmalar gerektirmektedir. Bu çalışma, ebeveyn internet bağımlılığı ile çocuk/ergen vücut kütle indeksi (VKİ) persentilleri arasındaki karmaşık bağlantıyı araştırmaktadır. Orijinal araştırma, az incelenmiş bir konuda akademik alana katkı sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır.
Yöntem: Araştırmaya 7–20 yaşları arasında 109 katılımcı dahil edilmiştir. Örneklem büyüklüğü, %95 güven aralığında 150 katılımcı üzerinden 108 olarak önceden hesaplanmıştır. Etik kurul onayı Haziran 2018’de alınmıştır. İstatistiksel analiz, çocukların VKİ persentilleri ile yaş, cinsiyet, çocuk/ergen ve ebeveynlerin internet bağımlılığı puanları ile ebeveynlerin eğitim durumu gibi faktörler arasındaki bağlantıları incelemiştir. Tanımlayıcı istatistikler, ortalama, SD, medyan, sıklık, yüzde, min/max değerlerini içermektedir. Normalite için Kolmogorov-Smirnov ve Shapiro-Wilk Testleri kullanılmıştır. Nicel veri için karşılaştırmalı testler arasında Kruskal-Wallis, bağımsız örneklem t-testi ve ANOVA yer almıştır. Nitel veri Pearson χ², Fisher-Freeman-Halton Exact Testleri ile analiz edilmiştir. Nicel değişkenler arasındaki ilişkileri değerlendirmek için Spearman korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Anlamlılık seviyesi p<0,050 olarak belirlenmiştir.
Bulgular: Ortalama±SD yaş 13,8±2,8 yıl olarak bulunmuştur. Çocuk/ergen İnternet Bağımlılığı Testi puanlarına göre 2 kişi IA, 46 kişi ise risk altındadır. Sınıflandırmalar 3 kişinin zayıf, 62 kişinin normal/sağlıklı kiloda, 39 kişinin fazla kilolu ve 5 kişinin obez VKİ persentil kategorisinde olduğunu göstermiştir. Çocuk/ergenlerin yaşlarıyla VKİ persentilleri arasında anlamlı korelasyon bulunmuştur (p=0,002), yaşları küçük olan çocuklarda daha yüksek bulunmuştur (p=0,011). Çocuk ve ergenlerin iki VKİ persentil kategorisi kıyaslandığında, babalarının internet bağımlılığı puanlarıyla istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişki olduğu saptanmıştır (p=0,029).
Sonuç: Sonuçların topluma genellenebilir olması açısından kısıtlamalar bulunmakla birlikte, elde edilen bulgular, potansiyel ilişkiler hakkında önemli ipuçları sunmaktadır. Çocukluk çağı obezitesi için erken yaş risk faktörünün olası rolünün daha fazla araştırılması gerekmektedir. Çalışma, sağlıksız davranışların nesiller arası aktarımına işaret etmektedir. Sağlık hizmet sunucuları, sağlıklı yaşam tarzı seçimleri konusunda eğitim vermek, risk değerlendirmeleri yapmak, halk sağlığı müdahalelerini uygulamak, izlemek ve değerlendirmekte kritik rol oynarlar. Çalışma, öncü nitelikte ve keşif amaçlı olarak yürütülmüştür. Özellikle sağlık davranışlarının ailevi etkilerinin tam olarak anlaşılabilmesi için daha fazla araştırma yapılmasının gerekliliği vurgulayan, ümit verici sonuçlar ortaya konulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

pediatrik obezite, maternal obesity, ebeveynlik, dijital teknoloji, internet bağımlılığı bozukluğu, halk sağlığı

Kaynakça

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