ACTIVE VIDEO GAMES AS A MEANS TO OVERCOME HYPOKINESIA IN OVERWEIGHT PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Keywords:
screen time, active video games, preschool age, childhood obesity, overweightAbstract
Over the past few decades, the amount of time children spend using electronic devices has increased significantly, and Bulgaria is no exception to this alarming trend. Passive screen time - in front of a computer, tablet, phone, video game, TV, etc., has already proven its importance as a risk factor for increasing children's weight above established norms and for increasing immobility in small patients. The high prevalence of obesity and low levels of physical activity in childhood create a need to look for new and different approaches to solving the problem. A good alternative could be active video games that replace the sitting position in front of the screen with dynamic movement and are adapted to the needs of adolescents. The aim of the present study was to analyze the screen time of overweight and obese preschool children and its relationship with some anthropometric indicators. The object of research are 109 children aged 5 and 6 in the municipality of Stara Zagora, participating in a study under a project of the Faculty of Medicine. To study the time spent in front of electronic receivers, a survey was used, given to the parents of children with increased weight. A high percentage of those surveyed - 80.7% (n=88) comply with the norms for screen time up to 2 hours per day. 19.3% of the children spend more than 2 hours online during the week, and 47.7% at the weekend. Comparing BMI with electronic time found that 20% of overweight and 21% obese children spent more than 2 hours in front of electronic devices, compared to 18.2% of those of normal weight. Lower average values were found in the abdominal circumferences of children watching "less than 1 hour" of television per day (66.9±7.2 cm.), compared to those standing in front of the screen "about 1-2 hours" (67 .4±7.8 cm.) and children watching television "about 2-4 hours" (67.3±8.4 cm.) without statistically significant differences being found (P>0.05). Passive screen time is a prerequisite for aggravating the problem of childhood obesity. But given the increasingly frequent use of electronic devices from an early age, there is a need to turn them from a "problem" into a "solution" to deal with childhood obesity.
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