Teens who spend too much time on their smart- phones are also more prone to eating habits that increase their odds for obesity, according to a study presented at the virtual annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. Researchers tracked the health of more than 53,000 adoles- cents, aged 12-18. The study team found that those who spent more than 2 hours per day on their smartphone were much more likely to eat larger amounts of junk food, while consuming fewer fruits and vegetables, when compared with those who spent less time on their phones. Specifically, teens who spent 5 or more hours per day on their phones were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, chips, and instant noodles than those who spent less than 2 hours per day on their phones. The reasons teens used their phones appeared to matter, too: Those who did more information searches and retrieval on their phones had healthier eating behaviors versus those who used their phones more for chatting/messenger, gaming, video/music, and social networking. The researchers noted that many reasons—more “mindless” eating, inade- quate sleep, or spending time on the phone that would otherwise be spent on physical activity —could help account for the link to unhealthy weight gain.
