The Relationship between Cell Phone Use, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior in United States Adults above College-age

Curtis Fennell,J Derek Kingsley,Jacob E Barkley,Ellen L Glickman,Andrew Lepp

doi:10.13189/saj.2018.060401

Curtis Fennell, J Derek Kingsley + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.13189/saj.2018.060401

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Abstract

Purpose: There is evidence of a positive relationship between cellular telephone use and sedentary behavior but not physical activity in college-aged individuals (18-29 years). These relationships have not been tested in individuals older than college age (≥ 30 years old). Testing these relationships in older individuals is warranted as cell phone use is inversely associated with age. Methods: A sample of adults aged 30-63 years (N = 69, 50.5 ± 8.2 years old) wore a physical activity monitor (accelerometer) for seven days and completed validated surveys assessing daily cell phone use, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Results: Cell phone use ( = 125.2 ± 146.8 minutes per day) was inversely associated with age (r = - 0.3, p = 0.005). Cell use was not associated with objectively- or subjectively-measured physical activity or sedentary behavior (r ≤ 0.1, p ≥ 0.3). Tertile splits were performed to establish groups of low, moderate, and high cell phone users. There were no significant (F ≤ 2.0, p ≥ 0.12 for all) differences in physical activity or sedentary behavior between groups. Conclusion: Unlike what has been reported in college-aged individuals, cell use was not associated with sedentary behavior in adults older than college age.

Highlights

IntroductionInternet-connected, mobile, cellular telephone ( cell phone) use has become increasingly common in the last decade
Internet-connected, mobile, cellular telephone use has become increasingly common in the last decade
The independent samples t-test revealed there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups cell phone use (t = 0.2, p = 0.7), sedentary behavior (t = 1.2, p = 0.5), subjective physical activity

Summary

Introduction

Internet-connected, mobile, cellular telephone ( cell phone) use has become increasingly common in the last decade. Physical activity is associated with many positive health effects including improved functional and cognitive health, reduced risk of falls, prevention of cardiovascular disease/coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, obesity, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression, and a decreased risk of premature mortality [16,17,18]. Despite this widely available information, many adults fail to participate in adequate physical activity and are excessively sedentary [16, 19,20,21,22]

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