Associations Between Screen Time and Mindfulness and Eating Behaviors Among Turkish School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Increasing screen time in childhood has been suggested to impact physical health, eating behaviors, and well-being. This study investigated how screen time affects mindfulness, mindful eating, and diet quality in Turkish adolescents aged 9-12 years. <b>Methods:</b> One hundred thirty-seven participants completed surveys on anthropometry, screen time, the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index, the Mindful Eating Questionnaire for Children, and the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure. <b>Results:</b> The average screen time was 4.43 ± 2.37 h/day. Significant negative correlations emerged between screen time and mindfulness (r = -0.471, <i>p</i> < 0.001), as well as between screen time and diet quality (r = -0.244, <i>p</i> < 0.05). A regression analysis revealed significant associations only for mindfulness (B = -0.158, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and age (B = 0.636, <i>p</i> = 0.002). <b>Conclusions:</b> Higher mindfulness and younger age correlated with lower screen time, suggesting mindfulness interventions in schools may reduce screen use.
Authors
- Gizem Köse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6612-6253)
- Murat Baş (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0494-301X)
- Ina Nehring (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8190-687X)
- İlayda Temizarabacı (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0071-3182)
Institutions
- German Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology (DE)
- Kent Hastanesi (TR)
- Acıbadem Adana Hospital (TR)
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Children
- Published
- 2025-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/children12060696
- Primary Topic
- Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung