Abstract
BackgroundMulti-country studies examining trends in sedentary behaviors among adolescents have mainly focused on high-income or Western countries, and almost no data exists for the rest of the world. Thus, this study aims to examine temporal trends in adolescents’ leisure time sedentary behavior (LTSB) employing nationally representative datasets from 26 countries from five WHO-defined geographical regions.MethodsData from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003–2017 were analyzed in 17,734 adolescents [mean (SD) age: 13.7 (1.0) years; 49.0% boys]. LTSB was self-reported and included all types of sedentary behaviors, excluding time spent at school or doing homework. The prevalence and 95%CI of high LTSB (i.e., ≥3 h/day) was calculated for the overall sample and by sex for each survey. Crude linear trends in high LTSB were assessed by linear regression models. Interaction analyses were conducted to examine differing trends among boys and girls.ResultsTemporal variations in LTSB substantially diverged across countries, with results showing increasing (6/26 countries), decreasing (4/26) and stable trends. The sharpest increases in LTSB occurred in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Thailand. Some countries did not show an increase in LTSB prevalence over time but had very high levels of LTSB (i.e., > 40%) across multiple years. Most countries showed no differences in LTSB trends between boys and girls.ConclusionsData from our study may serve as an important platform for policymakers, as well as local and national stakeholders, to establish country-specific and tailored strategies for reducing LTSB.
Highlights
Multi-country studies examining trends in sedentary behaviors among adolescents have mainly focused on high-income or Western countries, and almost no data exists for the rest of the world
Temporal variations in leisure time sedentary behavior (LTSB) substantially diverged across countries, with results showing increasing (6/26 countries), decreasing (4/26) and stable trends
Data from our study may serve as an important platform for policymakers, as well as local and national stakeholders, to establish country-specific and tailored strategies for reducing LTSB
Summary
Multi-country studies examining trends in sedentary behaviors among adolescents have mainly focused on high-income or Western countries, and almost no data exists for the rest of the world. This study aims to examine temporal trends in adolescents’ leisure time sedentary behavior (LTSB) employing nationally representative datasets from 26 countries from five WHO-defined geographical regions Sedentary behavior represents those behaviors undertaken while sitting or lying, with a low level of energy expenditure (i.e., ≤1.5metabolic equivalent units), excluding sleep [1]. Greater time spent in sedentary behavior is related to higher depressive symptoms, unfavorable body composition, cardiovascular risk factors, poor fitness, lower self-esteem, and lower quality of life [3,4,5,6].
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