Jorge Bezerra

Trends in screen time on week and weekend days in a representative sample of Southern Brazil students

BACKGROUND Economic and technological improvements can help increase screen time use among adolescents, but evidence in developing countries is scarce. The aim of this study was to examine changes in TV watching and computer/video game use patterns on week and weekend days after a decade (2001 and 2011), among students in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. METHODS A comparative analysis of two cross-sectional surveys that included 5 028 and 6 529 students in 2001 and 2011, respectively, aged 15-19 years. The screen time use indicators were self-reported. 95% Confidence intervals were used to compare the prevalence rates. All analyses were separated by gender. RESULTS After a decade, there was a significant increase in computer/video game use. Inversely, a significant reduction in TV watching was observed, with a similar magnitude to the change in computer/video game use. The worst trends were identified on weekend days. CONCLUSIONS The decrease in TV watching after a decade appears to be compensated by the increase in computer/video game use, both in boys and girls. Interventions are needed to reduce the negative impact of technological improvements in the lifestyles of young people, especially on weekend days.

Ética na pesquisa com seres humanos: revisão dos artigos publicados na Revista Paulista de Educação Física (1996-2004)

With the publication of the Resolution 196/96 of the Brazilian National Health Council, all research projects must observe the ethical principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Ethical Committees are responsible for observing the procedures used in the development of studies and periodicals must incorporate the resolution in their publication guidelines. The objective of this study was to analyze the contents of original manuscripts published in the Paulista Journal of Physical Education in light of their observance of the ethical principles in human subject research. All articles published between 1996 and 2004 were analyzed. Each article was evaluated along the following dimensions: study outline and ethical questions. The analyses included descriptive statistics procedures and exploratory analysis. There was mention of a guarantee of anonymity in only two studies, while five articles mentioned the signature of a term of free and informed consent. Only two articles made express reference to the Ethical Committees approval of the study. No article mentioned all three safeguards. Though the Paulista Journal of Physical Education submission guidelines suggest that authors include references to the subjects’ consent, only a small number contained that information. It is suggested revision of the publication norms of the Paulista Journal of Physical Education, showing more incisively the necessity of information of ethical aspects in the body of the manuscript.