Television viewing, physical activity, and health-related fitness of youth in the Québec family study

Purpose: To evaluate the relationships among television viewing time (TVTIME), physical activity, and health-related fitness in youth 9–18 years of age from the Québec Family Study. Methods: The sample included 423 males and 361 females 9–18 years of age from the greater Québec city area. TVTIME, daily energy expenditure (EE), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were estimated. Four health-related fitness variables were tested: knee extension strength, physical work capacity at 150 beats · min−1, situps, and sum of skinfolds. The body mass index (BMI) was also included. Relationships were assessed using correlations and analysis of covariance. Results: Correlations between TVTIME and EE and MVPA were low and not significant, with no pattern by age group and gender. Those between TVTIME and fitness variables were also low and generally not significant, with no pattern by age and gender. Adolescents in the highest and lowest quartiles of TVTIME showed no consistent differences in EE, MVPA, and the four fitness items. Similarly, adolescents in the highest and lowest quartiles of EE, MVPA, and each fitness item did not consistently differ in TVTIME. Conclusions: The results indicate that time watching television has only a weak association with indicators of physical activity and health-related fitness in Québec youth. Since the data are from the early 1980s, generalizations to more current samples should be tempered with care.