The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends no more than two to three hours per day of sedentary time for youth. However, a recent study has revealed that adolescents worldwide are spending an average of 8 to 10 hours per day engaging in sedentary activities such as watching television, using electronic devices, playing video games, and riding in motorized vehicles.
A groundbreaking study titled “Associations of Perceived Neighbourhood and Home Environments with Sedentary Behaviour Among Adolescents in 14 Countries” has been published in the prestigious International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. The findings, derived from the International Physical Activity and the Environment Network (IPEN) Adolescent Study, shed light on how environmental and lifestyle factors influence sedentary behaviour (SB) among adolescents aged 11–19 years across diverse cultural contexts.
The multi-country, cross-sectional study analysed data from 6,302 adolescents and their parents and India was a major contributor to the study. Accelerometer-based sedentary time (ST) was assessed over seven days, alongside surveys evaluating recreational screen time, transport-related sitting time, and environmental factors such as home environments and neighbourhood features.
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Key findings of the study:
- Adolescents accumulated an average of 7.8 to 10.5 hours of sedentary time per day across the 14 countries.
- Social media use emerged as the most significant correlate of total sedentary time for both sexes.
- Recreational screen time averaged 3.8 hours per day, while transport-related sitting time was approximately 40 minutes per day.
- Home environmental factors, such as access to social media accounts, strongly influenced screen time. Neighbourhood features, including land use diversity, traffic safety, and pedestrian infrastructure, impacted transport-related sitting time.
- The city or country of residence and sex of the adolescent significantly influenced the associations between environmental features and sedentary behaviour.
“This study is an important step in understanding the global patterns of sedentary behaviour among adolescents. Identifying social media use as a significant factor influencing sedentary time highlights the need for interventions aimed at promoting balanced screen use and encouraging active lifestyles in young people. Parents, policymakers, and technology companies must work together to reduce access to screens, limit social media engagement, and promote more physical activity to help adolescents develop healthier habits and reduce their risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. R. M. Anjana, President of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and first author of the study said.
These findings call for holistic policies to reduce sedentary time and enhance the overall health of young people worldwide, Dr. Anjana said.
“Both home and neighbourhood environments play a critical role in shaping sedentary behaviour. Urban planning, community safety, and supportive home environments collectively influence how adolescents balance their time between active and sedentary pursuits,” Dr. Ranjani Harish, Senior Scientist & Head of the Department of Preventive and Digital Health Research at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation said.
Countries are already taking action to address this rising concern. Australia recently introduced policies banning social media use for children under 16, aiming to reduce its negative impact on adolescent health and wellbeing.
This study underscores the importance of integrating behavioural, environmental and policy-based approaches to address the rising sedentary lifestyle among adolescents. With social media emerging as a major contributor, it is vital to focus on creating healthy digital habits and improving community infrastructure to effectively reduce sedentary time, the researchers said.
