Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan

Adeela Rahmat; Ferrukh Zehravi; Tabassum Parveen; Khadija Nisar; Rashida Ali Hussain; Rafia Ramzan

2026, Vol: 51, Issue: 2

51 / 2Current Issue Online First Archive Aims and Scope Abstracting & Indexing Most Accessed Articles Most Downloaded Articles Most Cited Articles

Required files to be uploaded

Author_Certificate-old
Bank Reciept

« Previous Article

Original Research

RMJ. 2026; 51(2): 547-551

Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan

Adeela Rahmat, Ferrukh Zehravi, Tabassum Parveen, Khadija Nisar, Rashida Ali Hussain, Rafia Ramzan.

Abstract
Objective: To determine the association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in schools in Karachi. Data was collected face-to-face from different schools in Karachi in February 2023. A closed-ended questionnaire was distributed among the study participants who were selected through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Chi-square test was used to find out the association between different variables.
Results: A significant association was observed between junk food consumption and leisure screen time on both weekends and weekdays. On weekends, higher leisure screen time (>4 hours) was significantly associated with more frequent consumption of fast food (χ² = 9.21, p=0.01), savory snacks (χ² = 14.55, p=0.001), and soft drinks (χ² = 11.65, p=0.003). A similar pattern was noted on weekdays, with significant associations for fast food (χ² = 8.03, p=0.01), savory snacks (χ² = 6.07, p=0.04), and particularly soft drinks, which showed the strongest relationship (χ² = 21.79, p<0.001). Overall, higher junk food intake was consistently linked with longer leisure screen time.
Conclusion: Prolonged screen time was associated with unhealthy eating behaviors and poor food choices among teenagers. Effective measures are necessary to reduce excessive screen time and encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity among teenagers.

Key words: Screen time, fast foods, adolescents.

	ARTICLE TOOLS
	Abstract
	PDF Fulltext
	How to cite this article
	Citation Tools
	Related Records
	Articles by Adeela Rahmat Articles by Ferrukh Zehravi Articles by Tabassum Parveen Articles by Khadija Nisar Articles by Rashida Ali Hussain Articles by Rafia Ramzan
	on Google
	on Google Scholar

How to Cite this Article

Pubmed Style

Rahmat A, Zehravi F, Parveen T, Nisar K, Hussain RA, Ramzan R. Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ. 2026; 51(2): 547-551.

Web Style

Rahmat A, Zehravi F, Parveen T, Nisar K, Hussain RA, Ramzan R. Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=223152 [Access: May 27, 2026].

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Rahmat A, Zehravi F, Parveen T, Nisar K, Hussain RA, Ramzan R. Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ. 2026; 51(2): 547-551.

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Harvard Style

Rahmat, A., Zehravi, . F., Parveen, . T., Nisar, . K., Hussain, . R. A. & Ramzan, . R. (2026) Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan. RMJ, 51 (2), 547-551.

Turabian Style

Rahmat, Adeela, Ferrukh Zehravi, Tabassum Parveen, Khadija Nisar, Rashida Ali Hussain, and Rafia Ramzan. 2026. Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan. Rawal Medical Journal, 51 (2), 547-551.

Chicago Style

Rahmat, Adeela, Ferrukh Zehravi, Tabassum Parveen, Khadija Nisar, Rashida Ali Hussain, and Rafia Ramzan. "Association between screen time and junk food consumption among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Karachi, Pakistan." Rawal Medical Journal 51 (2026), 547-551.

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Author Login Reviewer Login Editorial Policies Conflict of Interest Policy Plagiarism Policy Advertising Policy

About Rawal Medical Journal

Contact Information

How to cite this article


About Rawal Medical Journal Publication, subscription and Editorial office PMA House G/220-B Liaquat Road, Rawalpindi. Phone: 051-555-9812, Fax: 051-553-7088 Email: drnkhokhar@ya ... Read more. For best results, please use Internet Explorer or Google Chrome.	Contact Information