The relationship between screen time, nutritional status, and sedentary lifestyle among adolescents aged 12-17 in Commune 5 of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, during the first four months of 2025

Introduction: Prolonged screen time has been linked to changes in nutritional status and physical activity habits among adolescents. Understanding this relationship is essential for designing interventions to improve youth health.Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and correlational study was conducted with 200 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from Comuna 5, Buenos Aires City. Structured questionnaires were used to measure screen time, calculate body mass index (BMI), and assess sedentary behavior levels. Data were analyzed using vertical and percentage analyses.Results: Obesity was most prevalent among adolescents with less than one hour of daily screen time (93.3%), decreasing in groups with moderate screen time and increasing again in those exceeding three hours (70.4%). Overweight increased with screen time, particularly in medium and long durations. Normal BMI peaked in the group with around three hours of screen time. High sedentary behavior showed an increasing trend with more screen time, reaching 43.7% in adolescents with over three hours daily. Medium and low sedentary levels were more frequent in groups with intermediate and short screen times.Conclusions: There is a complex, non-linear relationship between screen time, nutritional status, and sedentary behavior in adolescents. Increased screen exposure is associated with higher sedentary levels and nutritional alterations, underscoring the need for comprehensive interventions to promote healthy habits and regulate screen use in this population.