Television or unrestricted, unmonitored internet access in the bedroom and body mass index in youth athletes.

AIM: To correlate television or unrestricted, unmonitored Internet access in room of sleep with body mass index (BMI).

METHODS: Cross-sectional study of athletes ≤19 years who underwent an injury prevention evaluation. Independent variables included proportion of athletes categorised as overweight or obese who answered positively to American Academy of Pediatrics recommended questions: (i) Do you have a TV in the room where you sleep? (ii) Do you have unrestricted, unmonitored access to the Internet in the room where you sleep?

RESULTS: 555 athletes; 324 female; mean age 13.83 ± 2.60. Athletes with a TV in their room of sleep had higher BMI (22.73 vs. 20.54; p < 0.001), slept less hours/week (7.65 vs. 8.12; p = 0.003) and were more likely to be overweight/obese (40.32% vs. 25.52%; p = 0.022). Athletes with unrestricted, unmonitored Internet access in the room of sleep had a higher BMI (21.68 vs. 19.83; p < 0.001), slept fewer hours/week (7.58 vs. 8.60; p < 0.001) and per/weekend (9.00 vs. 9.37; p < 0.001). After adjusting for age and gender, having a TV in the room of sleep remained significantly associated with BMI and WHO criteria for overweight/obesity.

CONCLUSION: Athletes with television in their room of sleep were more likely to have higher BMI and be overweight or obese.