Trends of Sedentary Time and Domain-Specific Sedentary Behavior in Spanish Schoolchildren

Physical activity has decreased in Finnish children and adolescents from 2016 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Varying trends in children's and adolescents' physical activity (PA) have been reported during the last 10-20 years. Trends in sedentary behavior (SB) have been studied only rarely. The purpose of the present study was to describe population-based trends in accelerometer-measured PA, standing and SB, among Finnish 7-15-year-old children and adolescents, and to evaluate the potential influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on these behaviors.

METHOD

A cross-sectional population-based Finnish school-aged physical activity Study (FSPA) measured daily steps, vigorous (VPA), moderate (MPA), moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), standing, and SB by an accelerometer for seven consecutive days in 2016, 2018, and 2022 (n = 7.080, 57% girls). The data was analyzed by multivariate regression analysis.

RESULTS

In 2016, participants took on average 10.305 steps per day, and spent 0:15 (h: min) in VPA, 1:37 in MPA, 1:52 in MVPA, 3:48 in LPA, 0:55 in standing and 7:52 in SB. From 2016 to 2018, daily steps, MPA, LPA, and standing increased [229 steps (95% Confidence Interval, CI 70-387), 0:03 (CI 0:01 - 0:04), 0:11 (CI 0:09 - 0:14), and 0:07 (CI 0:05 - 0:08), respectively], while VPA and SB decreased [0:01 (CI 0:00-0:02) and 0:20 (CI 0:16 - 0:24), respectively]. From 2018 to 2022, daily PA and standing declined [751 steps (CI 562-939), VPA 0:02 (CI 0:01 - 0:03), MPA 0:09 (CI 0:07 - 0:11), MVPA 0:11 (CI 0:09 - 0:14), LPA 0:08 (CI 0:05 - 0:11), and standing 0:01 (CI 0:01 - 0:03)] while SB increased 0:21 (CI 0:16 - 0:25) indicating potential influence of the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Children and adolescents became physically less active from 2016 to 2022. The potential effects of the COVID-19 were seen as declined PA and increased sedentariness from 2018 to 2022.

Sedentary behaviours and their relationship with academic performance in adolescents: A mediation analysis

The present research aims to examine the relationship between the four dimensions of sedentary behaviours and academic performance, as well as to test the association between sedentary behaviours and academic performance in boys and girls in a sample of Spanish adolescents. A total of 2,216 adolescents aged 11 to 16 years old, both males (13.30 ± 0.92) and females (13.06 ± 0.86), participated. Sleep duration, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours were measured through questionnaires. Academic performance was assessed with students´ marks. Potential confounders such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, and cardiorespiratory fitness were also measured. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, analysis of differences, and multiple mediation analysis were conducted. It was observed that girls spend more time on sedentary educational or social behaviours, while boys spend much more time on screen time. Sedentary behaviours such as educational time, screen time, and relaxing time were associated with academic performance. Specifically, educational time appears to be positively related to academic performance. Nevertheless, screen time and relaxing time were negatively associated with academic performance. The multiple mediation analysis revealed that screen time was the most negative behaviour on academic performance. The outcomes are discussed to improve knowledge about sedentary behaviours and academic performance.

The association between sedentary behavioral characteristics and poor vision among Chinese children and adolescents

Introduction

To understand the features of sedentary behavior of Chinese children and adolescents and its relationship with poor visual acuity, a self-administered "Questionnaire on Sedentary Behavior of Children and Adolescents" was used to survey 4,203 students in grades 4-12 in six administrative regions of China.

Results

(1) The average time spent in sedentary behaviors (SB) of Chinese children and adolescents was about 8.1 h per day, of which the academic sedentary time was the longest, accounting for 79.2% of total sedentary time. The total time spent on SB and the time spent on studying SB were more in the upper grades and less in screen SB and cultural leisure SB, respectively. There were significant sex differences in total SB time (p < 0.05) and weekend sedentary behaviors time (SB-WD) (p < 0.01) among Chinese children and adolescents, with girls being more likely to be higher than boys. There were also significant differences in sedentary time across different regions (p < 0.05), and the longest total sedentary time in East China. (2) Reduction parents' sedentary time and limitation of sedentary behaviors and the use of electronics among children and adolescents can effectively reduce sedentary time among Chinese children and adolescents. (3) Sedentary time was significantly higher in children and adolescents with poor vision than in those with normal vision (p < 0.01), and study SB and screen SB were important independent factors affecting vision. (4) Timing of breaks in SB can play a positive role in promoting vision health.

Conclusion

There were significant grade, sex, and regional differences in the SB of Chinese children and adolescents, and sedentary time was strongly related to the prevalence of poor vision detection rate.