P510 Parental knowledge of children’s screen time and the depiction of nutritional products on children’s television

Introduction Childhood obesity is a major risk factor for developing metabolic syndromes, with these patients five times as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those without metabolic syndromes. Significant contributors to obesity include decreased physical activity, poor diet, and sedentary behaviours, especially television viewing. Current guidelines recommend no more than 2-hours non-educational screen-time per day. Aims Examining parental knowledge regarding food-types on children’s programming and ascertain self-reporting of television viewing and parental concerns regarding nutritional influence of television. Methods Cross-sectional survey on parents of children aged 4–16 years old, presenting to University Hospital Limerick, October-April,2018. Surveys regarding demographics, television viewing, perceptions of television portrayal of nutrition. Data analysed on SPSS. Results Sixty parents completed the surveys with 15% reporting their children watched over 2 hours of television during weekdays, increasing 35% during weekends. Whilst the majority(55%) reported sweet snacks the most commonly depicted on television. 10% of children always watched television during meals with half of children regularly watching television during meals. 80% of parents admitted concern regarding advertising of unhealthy foods with 85% doubting the advertising industry would protect children. 75% of parents were concerned regarding children nutrition, with various concerns expressed. Conclusions Results showed high level of concern regarding advertising and children eating habits. Overall results showed significant proportion of children spending greater than the recommended time watching television, with a significant portrayal of unhealthy food types during this period. Future work in this area should fully explore the influence of screen time on food choice and nutritional intake of children.