Cannabis use and leisure-time sedentary behavior among 94,035 adolescents aged 12-15 years from 24 low- and middle-income countries

Recent Cannabis Use and Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Among Young-to-Midlife Adults: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2014

Introduction: Cannabis use has been associated with reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behavior in adolescents. In adults, however, there is no conclusive evidence of such an association, and existing studies have primarily relied on self-reported activity measures. As cannabis use increases globally, a deeper understanding of its relationship with activity levels may inform clinical counseling and guidelines. This study investigated the association between recent cannabis use and accelerometer-measured activity. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2014. We included adults in the United States who responded to a cannabis questionnaire and had at least 4 days of activity data from an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer, which comprised participants from 18 to 59 years. The primary exposure was any self-reported cannabis use in the past 30 days. The primary outcome was daily sedentary time and secondary outcomes were daily light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Analyses were performed with multivariable quasi-Poisson regression models. Results: Of 4666 included adults, 658 (14.1%) reported recent cannabis use. After covariate adjustment, recent cannabis use was not associated with daily sedentary time (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98-1.01) or daily MVPA time (aIRR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.98-1.04). Daily LPA time was 4% greater with recent cannabis use (aIRR 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06). Conclusion: Recent cannabis use in young to midlife adults was not associated with accelerometer-measured sedentary or MVPA time, but it was associated with a marginal increase in LPA time of unclear clinical significance. Our findings provide evidence against existing concerns that cannabis use independently promotes sedentary behavior and decreases physical activity. Future prospective studies are needed to determine if these findings generalize to specific populations using cannabis including chronic pain patients.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and cannabis use in 15,822 US adults: cross-sectional analyses from NHANES

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to analyse the overall and sex-specific associations between cannabis use and physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional analyses from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

METHODS

Data on cannabis use and leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour from NHANES cycles 2007-2008 to 2015-2016 were analysed. Multivariable regression models were carried out.

RESULTS

About 15,822 participants were analysed (mean age ± standard error = 37.5 ± 0.19 years, range 20-59 years). Significantly higher odds were found for being active and ever used cannabis in the overall sample (odds ratio [OR] = 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-1.4) and in males (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1 to 1.5) and females (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0-1.4), respectively. In respective of sedentary behaviour, ever used cannabis was associated with higher odds of TV viewing ≥2 h/day in the overall sample (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0-1.4). However, this association was observed in males only (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6). Ever used cannabis was associated with total sitting time (beta-coefficient = 0.3, 95%CI: 0.1-0.4), which was more evident in females (beta-coefficient = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.1-0.6).

CONCLUSIONS

Cannabis consumption was associated with higher levels of physical activity and sitting time. When intervening to reduce cannabis consumption in the US populations, it may be appropriate to promote physical activity and ensure physical activity is maintained once cannabis consumption is stopped.

Temporal trends in leisure-time sedentary behavior among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 26 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas

Background

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. 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.

Methods

Data 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.

Results

Temporal 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.

Conclusions

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.