DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7232771
title: Adolescent screen time and unhealthy food consumption in the context of  the digital development in New Caledonia

description: Data from self-report questionnaires on time spent in front of tablets, computers and mobile phones, as well as the consumption of unhealthy food and drinks.

Participant characteristics: 11 to 15 years old students.

Number of participants: 867.

Year of the study: 2018 - 2019.

Place of the study: New Caledonia.

 
description: ConsentWritten consent was obtained from the children’s parents before the start of the study. The project was first authorized by the Vice-Rectorate and then presented to the school directors. The targeted schools were contacted, and the project was then proposed to the teaching teams for their acceptance.

Data collection and filterData were collected between July 2018 and April 2019, from 1060 school-going adolescents (11–15 years old) during class time. In each school, two classes per level (6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd) were chosen to respond to the anonymous questionnaire, which consisted of two parts lasting 30 minutes each and was carried out in two stages.We removed questionnaires with incomplete responses and obtained 867 completed questionnaires with parental permission.

Use of devices and screen timeThe students answered online via digital tablets or, if necessary, directly on computer stations in classrooms. The language used in this questionnaire was French, the official language understood by the adolescents and used for teaching. Concerning media use, questions were asked about the number of devices with digital screens in their families (e.g., number of computers, tablets and mobile phones and connected fixed screens) and the time they spend on them during the week and on weekends. Screen time was assessed through the following two questions: "How much time do you spend in front of the computer or tablet during the week? and "If you have a mobile phone, how much time are you logged in on your phone during the week?”. The answers to these two questions about screen time per day during the school week (Monday to Friday) were then added together. The same questions were also asked about the weekends and then these two factors (weekday and weekend use) were combined to give the total screen time for the whole week as follows: average time = 5 x time (weekdays) + 2 x time (weekend) divided by seven.

Socio-demographyEthnicity was self-reported by the adolescents and classified according to the recommendations of the INSERM [INSERM. Documents: Situation sociale et comportements de sante´ des jeunes en Nouvelle Calédonie —Premiers résultats, Mars 2008. https://documentation.outre-mer.gouv.fr/i-Record.htm?idlist= 1&record=19103288124919214609] report on New Caledonia, but we did not allow the students to report belonging to more than one ethnic group. Ethnic categorization was based on the question: "Which community do you feel you belong to?" We proposed a category called "other" in which we grouped together all ethnic groups that represented less than 5%, such as Chinese and African. Participants who answered "European born in New Caledonia" or "European born in a place different from New Caledonia" have been aggregated into a single categoy: "European". This results in a 4-category-variable: Melanesian, European, Polynesian and Other.

Socioeconomic status (SES) was indexed on the basis of the occupation of the household reference person (defined as the head of the household with the highest income) using the socioeconomic classification of national statistics [Krieger N. A Researcher’s Guide to the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification. J Public Health Policy. 2003; 24(3–4):467–73.]. In this study, three categories were selected: management and professional occupations (upper SES), intermediate occupations (intermediate SES), and common and manual occupations (lower SES).

NutritionTo assess diet, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) consisting of 28 questions was set up to obtain data on the frequency of food consumption [Gwynn JD, Flood VM, D'Este CA, Attia JR, Turner N, Cochrane J, Wiggers JH; Many Rivers Diabetes Prevention Project study team. The reliability and validity of a short FFQ among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous rural children. Public Health Nutr. 2011 Mar;14(3):388-401. doi: 10.1017/S1368980010001928. Epub 2010 Jul 16. PMID: 20633315.], but we used only the responses regarding unhealthy food and drinks: foods high in salt, sugar or saturated fat (french fries, processed salted meats, chocolate and confectionery, cakes, pastries and cookies) and beverages that are not recommended. The intake frequencies for the individual food items of the FFQ were first converted to daily frequency equivalents (DFEs), calculated by allocating proportional values to the original frequency categories with reference to a base value of 1.0, equivalent to once a day.The consumption of unhealthy food and drink were categorized according to the Pacific Community (SPC) standards for unhealthy products, which advise a maximum of one unit per day [CPS (Communauté du Pacifique Sud). Recommandations pour une vie saine dans le Pacifique—Manuel à destination des professionnels de santé et des éducateurs. 2018;44.].
description: Description of the columns

id: participant ID for this studyComputer and tablet screen time on weekdays (h/day): screen time on computer and tablet during weekdays (in h/day) declared by participantsComputer and tablet screen time on weekends (h/day): screen time on computer and tablet during weekends (in h/day) declared by participantsPhone screen time on weekdays (h/day): screen time on mobile phone during weekdays (in h/day) declared by participantsPhone screen time on weekends (h/day): screen time on mobile phone during weekends (in h/day) declared by participantsTotal screen time on weekdays (h/day): total screen time during weekdays (in h/day) declared by participants [calculated by adding "screen time on computer and tablet during weekdays" and "screen time on mobile phone during weekdays"]Total screen time on weekends (h/day): total screen time during weekends (in h/day) declared by participants [calculated by adding "screen time on computer and tablet during weekends" and "screen time on mobile phone during weekends"]Total screen time (h/day): total screen time during the week (in h/day) declared by participants [calculated according to the following formula: (5 * "Total screen time on weekdays (h/day)" + 2 * "Total screen time on weekends (h/day)")/7]Number of screens: number of screen devices declared by participants ("None", "One", "Two", "Three or more")Gender: gender of participants ("Boys" or "Girls")Place of living: area type of the school (rural: "R"; or urban: "U")Ethnicity: ethnic community declared by participants ("Melanesian", "European", "Polynesian" or "Other")SES: socio-economic status ("Lower", "Intermediate", "Upper")Unhealthy food (u/day): consumption of unhealthy food declared by participants (in unit/day)Sweet beverages (u/day): consumption of sweet beverages declared by participants (in unit/day)Unhealthy food (cat): categorization of the consumption of unhealthy food declared by participants ("<= 1", "> 1")Sweet beverages (cat): categorization of the consumption of sweet beverages declared by participants ("<= 1", "> 1")Total unhealthy food and beverages (u/day): total consumption of unhealthy food and sweet beverages [calculated by adding "Unhealthy food (u/day)" and "Sweet beverages (u/day)"]