Prevalence of screen time use and its relationship with obesity, sleep quality, and parental knowledge of related guidelines: A study on children and adolescents attending Primary Healthcare Centers in the Makkah Region.

Background: Since the use of handheld electronic devises is prevalent among people of all ages, health organizations have specified appropriate screen times for the different age groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of screen use and its association with sleep quality and obesity.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on people attending three Primary Healthcare Centers in the Makkah region between January and October 2019. The three-part questionnaire filled by parents collected data on sociodemographics, parental knowledge of guidelines, and asleep quality. Data were analyzed using STATA 14.2. For continuous variables, groups were compared using t-test; Pearson Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate, was employed for categorical variables.

Results: A total of 450 individuals completed the questionnaire. Children 2-12 years old spent more time and used phones, tablets, and television (TV) more frequently, while those younger than 2 or older than 12 used phones and TVs more than other devices. High body mass index was associated with the daily usage of electronic devices. Fewer hours of sleep, longer time to fall sleep, and longer hours in bed were associated with the usage of all electronic devices. Furthermore, a good knowledge of the maximum time allowed for children and teenagers and content scoring system was associated with hours slept per night, and low knowledge was associated with higher frequency of using electronic devices.

Conclusion: Children spent long periods using electronic devices, and despite knowing the guidelines, parents still allowed their children to exceed the time acceptable for the use of electronic devices, which could lead to future social problems.