Relationship between Sedentary Time, Physical Activity, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Spanish Children.

Manuel Ávila-García,Francisco Javier Huertas-Delgado,Emilio Villa-González,María Esojo-Rivas,Pablo Tercedor

doi:10.3390/ijerph18052702

Abstract

Higher sedentary time and lower physical activity (PA) are associated with a poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children. The aims of this study were: (1) to analyze the sedentary time, objectively measured PA levels (light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)), and HRQoL dimensions (physical well-being, emotional well-being, self-esteem, family, friends, school, and total score) in children; and (2) to examine the association between sedentary time, PA levels, and HRQoL in children separately by sex. A total of 459 children (8.4 ± 0.4 years old, 50.54% males) from 15 schools in Granada (Spain) participated in the study. A tri-axial accelerometer was used to measure PA levels in the children for 7 consecutive days. The Revidierter KINDer Lebensqualitätsfragebogen (KINDL-R) questionnaire was used to determine the children’s HRQoL dimensions. The results showed that males presented more minutes engaged in MVPA than females. Both sedentary time and PA levels were associated with self-esteem and total score (all p < 0.05). In males, moderate and vigorous PA levels were associated with higher HRQoL, whereas light PA was associated with higher HRQoL in females. Future studies should take into account the use of activities with difference intensities in order to increase HRQoL in males and females.

Highlights

The main findings of this study were: (i) females performed more light physical activity (PA) than males, while males engaged in more vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA); (ii) sedentary time was negatively associated with self-esteem and total score, while all levels of PA were positively related to self-esteem and total score; (iii) by sex, sedentary time was negatively associated with more health-related quality of life (HRQoL) dimensions in males than females
Sedentary time was negatively associated with more HRQoL dimensions in males than females
This study presents updated results of sedentary time, PA, and HRQoL in Spanish children

Summary

Introduction

The WHO recommends increasing children’s physical activity to 60 min per day in order to achieve health-related benefits [2]. Lower sedentary time and higher physical activity (PA) levels have been highlighted for their benefits to physical and psychosocial health in children [3], such as better physical fitness [4] and cognitive function [5]. The majority of children and adolescents worldwide did not meet the physical activity guidelines [6]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is defined as an individual’s subjective perception of the impact of health status on physical (e.g., illness, pain, fatigue), psychological (e.g., emotional well-being, self-esteem), and social functioning (e.g., friends, family, school), including the ability to perform appropriate daily life activities according to the age of the individual [7]

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Discussion

Conclusion