TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effect of TV Viewing on Children’s Obesity Risk and Mental Well-being: Evidence from the UK Digital Switchover
AU - Nieto Castro, Adrian
AU - Suhrcke, Marc
PY - 2021/10/17
Y1 - 2021/10/17
N2 - We examine the effect of screen-based activities on obesity and mental well-being for children, using a large survey dataset representative of the UK population and an event study model that exploits exogenous variation in the entry date of the digital television transition in the UK. The digital transition increased the number of available free television channels from 5 to 40, leading to a rise in television viewing time. Our results show that receiving access to digital television signal considerably increases the mental health total difficulties score among children, and that th is impact grows over time. We also find suggestive evidence that the digital transition could have increased BMI for children. Underlying the net effects appear to be decreases in participation in social and physical activities.
AB - We examine the effect of screen-based activities on obesity and mental well-being for children, using a large survey dataset representative of the UK population and an event study model that exploits exogenous variation in the entry date of the digital television transition in the UK. The digital transition increased the number of available free television channels from 5 to 40, leading to a rise in television viewing time. Our results show that receiving access to digital television signal considerably increases the mental health total difficulties score among children, and that th is impact grows over time. We also find suggestive evidence that the digital transition could have increased BMI for children. Underlying the net effects appear to be decreases in participation in social and physical activities.
KW - television
KW - BMI
KW - Obesity
KW - Mental Health
KW - Well-being
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102543
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117780344&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/47867cd0-b638-371f-bd7c-f35f6c7e0846/
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102543
DO - 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102543
M3 - Article
C2 - 34710814
SN - 0167-6296
JO - Journal of Health Economics
JF - Journal of Health Economics
M1 - 102543
ER -