Relating Activity Involvements to Child Weight Status: Do Normal and Overweight Children Differ in How They Spend Their Time?

Silvia Bartolic, University of Texas at Austin
Sook-Jung Lee, University of Texas at Austin
Elizabeth Vandewater, University of Texas at Austin

The prevalence of obesity in American youth has reached alarming levels. The proportion of overweight children, defined as Body-Mass-Index (BMI) exceeding the 95th percentile for age- and sex- based norms, has tripled in the past three decades (Troiano & Flegal, 1998). It is assumed that obese and non-obese children spend their time in different ways. Yet, few studies have examined how normal weight and overweight children differ (or do not differ) in the ways they spend their time. In this paper, we draw upon the Child Development Supplement (CDS) to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) which collects 24h time diaries from children to examine similarities and differences in the ways normal weight and overweight children spend their time. Results indicate that overweight children and adolescents spend less time participating in organized sports and outdoor play, sleeping, and playing with friends and more time playing video games, reading and being alone.