Objectives Screen time refers to the amount of time spent using digital devices. Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic evoked major lifestyle changes including physical distancing and school closures, leading to an increased duration of screen time both for educational and recreational purposes. This further had a negative impact on dietary habits, physical activity and overall well-being of children. Hence, this study aimed to compare the effect of screen time on dietary habits and physical activity between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods.Design This questionnaire-based descriptive study was conducted over a period of 6 months using a predesigned, structured proforma.Setting Various schools within the field practice area of a medical college hospital in Mangalore, Southern India.Participants A total of 150 adolescents aged 10–15 years were selected through consecutive sampling.Interventions Data were collected across four domains—anthropometry, screen usage, dietary habits and physical activity—comparing the pre-COVID-19 period with the COVID-19 period.Main outcome measures Changes in body mass index (BMI), daily screen time duration, frequency of junk food consumption and daily physical activity levels were noted.Results A total of 150 children with a mean age of 12.54±2.41 years and an almost equal gender distribution were included. During the COVID-19 period, there was a significant increase in screen time, particularly while eating and before bed time, which was associated with an increase in bingeing, consumption of junk food, reduction in physical activity and higher total duration of sedentary phase, as compared with pre-pandemic times. A substantial increase in mean weight and BMI was also noted during this period, leading to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity, which was highly statistically significant (p<0.0001).Conclusions The increased screen time during the COVID-19 period had a significant negative impact on dietary habits and physical activity, contributing to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. These changes are likely to have long-term health implications, emphasising the need for targeted interventions and awareness programmes to curb excessive usage of screens in children.
K et al. (Thu,) studied this question.