International journal of obesity : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Overweight and obesity are rising among Chinese reproductive-age women, while some studies have focused on the relationship between sedentary behavior and obesity in certain populations, none has focused on Chinese reproductive-age women specifically. This study examined secular trends in leisure time sedentary behaviors (watching television time, computer time and reading time, and the total sedentary time) among Chinese reproductive-age women and the association of those behaviors with five weight indicators-body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity status. ⋯ These findings showed that among Chinese reproductive-age women ages 15-49, secular trends of computer time increased rapidly, reading time decreased gradually and television time fluctuated but showed not much difference from 2004 to 2015. The sharp increase in computer time far outweighed the decline in reading time. As a result, the overall sedentary behavior time of Chinese reproductive-age women gradually increased. These findings provided strong evidence that greater television time was significantly associated with higher BMI, WC, and higher risks of overweight, abdominal obesity among Chinese reproductive-age women. Computer, reading, and the total sedentary time were not associated with those weight indicators.