We'll cover a series of questions over the coming weeks around the following study exploring the relationship between TV consumption and hypertension. Everything you'll need to know about the study is included below, and will be included in future questions.

Background:

Television viewing is strongly associated with an increased risk of childhood and adolescent obesity. However, the association between TV viewing and hypertension in children is unknown. This study aimed to identify whether TV watching is associated with hypertension in obese children.

Methods:

Children seen for obesity, aged 4 to 17 years, were evaluated at three pediatric centers from 2003 to 2005. In 2006–2007, a logistic regression model estimated the odds of hypertension for hours of daily TV time controlling for race, site, and body mass index (BMI) z-score.

Results:

A total of 546 subjects, with a metn age of 12 years, were evaluated. The children had a mean BMI of 35.5±9.3 kg/m2 (98.7th±0.8 percentile, z-score 2.54±0.4). TV time was positively correlated with the severity of obesity. After controlling for race, site, and BMI z-score, both the severity of obesity and daily TV time were significant independent predictors of the presence of hypertension. Children watch...