Association of Dental Caries and Obesity with Television Viewing Practices among School Children of Moradabad City

Background: Television viewing has been implicated as a possible risk factor for the increase in a number of chronic diseases, particularly those related to sedentary life style. Objective: Study was aimed to examine the association of television viewing on oral health and BMI (body mass index) among school children of Moradabad city. Materials and method: Convenient samples of 1100 children aged 7-12 yrs were recruited from schools of Moradabad. Sixteen-item, close-ended, validated questionnaire were distributed among study subjects and parents of 7 year old children, followed by clinical examination of the students; which includes oral examination and calculating BMI, by a single calibrated examiner in the classroom with adequate natural light. Results: Of all children 52% watched television for more than 1 hr per day. 62.4% children who had their meals in front of television, 61.9% who demanded snacks after watching advertisements were having dental caries (Decayed Missing Filled Teeth ≥ 1) DMFT and many were found to be overweight who had similar habits. 56.5% of children who watch television for >1 hr were having a plaque score (>2). Conclusion: The present study shows high prevalence of dental caries, poor oral hygiene and increased BMI was associated with television viewing habits of children.