Meeting international screen-time guidelines is associated with healthy dietary patterns in Spanish schoolchildren

Region of Murcia's 2022 report card on physical activity for children and youth

Objective

The aim of this review was to summarize the process and results of the Region of Murcia's 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

Methods

Indicators from the Global Matrix initiative (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport & Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, Active Play, Active Transport, Sedentary Behaviors, Family & Peers, School, Community & Environment, and Government) were evaluated based on the best available data in the Region of Murcia.

Results

Active play was the indicator with the highest grade (B+), followed by Organized Sport & Physical Activity (B) and Active Play (B). School and Family and Peers indicators obtained a C+ and C grade, respectively. Both Community and Environment and Sedentary Behaviors indicators received a D+ grade. The grade for Overall Physical Activity and Government indicators was D. Physical Fitness was the indicator with the lowest grade of this Report Card (D-). None of the indicators received an incomplete grade (INC) because of a lack of available information.

Conclusions

The present Report Card offers evidence highlighting the low level of physical activity in Spanish children and adolescents living in the Region of Murcia. Further studies and surveillance efforts are urgently needed for most of the indicators analyzed, which should be addressed by researchers and the Region of Murcia's Government for this specific population. A strong commitment from the Government of the Region of Murcia is needed at all levels to promote a cultural change that will lead children and young people in this region to improve the current situation.

Association between Leisure Screen Time and Junk Food Intake in a Nationwide Representative Sample of Spanish Children (1-14 Years): A Cross-Sectional Study

Evidence on the association between new patterns of leisure screen time and junk food consumption in Spanish children at the national level is scarce. The aim of this study is to assess the relation between daily leisure screen time and the frequency of sweet, soft drink, fast food, and snack intake in a representative sample of Spanish children and adolescents aged from 1 to 14 years. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a representative sample of the Spanish population under 15 years recruited for the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey (n = 5480). We dichotomized sweet, soft drink, fast food, and snack intake (high/low) and categorized daily leisure screen time (0–59, 60–119, 120–179, and ≥180 min). We calculated crude prevalence ratios and adjusted prevalence ratios, and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), of high frequency of sweet, soft drink, fast food, and snack intake. Children spending at least one hour of daily leisure screen time had higher prevalence of high frequency of sweet and snack intake than children being exposed less than one hour. For soft drinks and fast food, prevalence of high frequency intake was significantly higher from two and three hours of exposure, respectively. Longer periods of screen exposure in Spanish children during their leisure time may be associated with poorer dietary behaviors. The negative effects of excessive screen time in pediatrics population should be further studied.

Zapico A, Gusi N, Aznar S, Alcaraz PE, González-Valeiro M, Serra-Majem L, Terrados N, Tur JA, Segú M, Lassale C, Homs C, Oses M, González-Gross M, Sánchez-Gómez J, Jiménez-Zazo F, Marín-Cascales E, Sevilla-Sánchez M, Herrera-Ramos E, Pulgar S, Bibiloni MDM, Sancho-Moron O, Schröder H, Barón-López FJ. Screen Time and Parents' Education Level Are Associated with Poor Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Spanish Children and Adolescents: The PASOS Study

The aim of this study is to evaluate if screen time and parents' education levels are associated with adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern. This cross-sectional study analyzed a representative sample of 3333 children and adolescents (8 to 16 years) included in the Physical Activity, Sedentarism, lifestyles and Obesity in Spanish youth (PASOS) study in Spain (which ran from March 2019 to February 2020). Data on screen time (television, computer, video games, and mobile phone) per day, Mediterranean diet adherence, daily moderate or vigorous physical activity, and parents' education levels were gathered using questionnaires. A descriptive study of the variables according to sex and parents' education level was performed. Logistic regression models (adjusted by sex and weight status) were fitted to evaluate the independent association between screen time and Kids' level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (KIDMED) index, as well as some of its items. A greater amount of screen time was associated with worse adherence to the Mediterranean diet; a lower consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish, legumes, and nuts; and a greater consumption of fast food, sweets, and candies. A lower parents' education level was associated with worse adherence to the Mediterranean diet. It is necessary to promote the responsible, limited use of screen time, especially in children with parents with a lower education level.