Mediating role of disordered eating in the relationship between screen time and BMI in adolescents: longitudinal findings from the Research on Eating and Adolescent Lifestyles (REAL) study.

TV viewing was longitudinally associated with higher z-BMI in a community-based sample of adolescents, but disordered eating behaviours did not mediate this relationship. However, other non-pathological eating behaviours may mediate the association between ST and obesity and warrant further investigation. Finding suggests that targeting reduction in youth's TV viewing may be an effective component in the prevention of childhood obesity.