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. 2019 May 16;19(1):154.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-019-1521-8.

High sedentary time in children is not only due to screen media use: a cross-sectional study

Belinda Hoffmann  1 , Susanne Kobel  2 , Olivia Wartha  2 , Sarah Kettner  2 , Jens Dreyhaupt  3 , Jürgen M Steinacker  2
Affiliations

High sedentary time in children is not only due to screen media use: a cross-sectional study

Belinda Hoffmann et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Sedentary behaviour has become a growing public health concern. Currently, it is a common belief that screen time (SCT) is a key factor in high overall sedentary time (ST) and is often used as a primary outcome. However, the evidence is lacking. Therefore, this study investigated the association of objectively assessed total ST with SCT among children. Further, SCT was investigated separately for sedentary level, weight status, gender, and migration background.

Methods: For 198 primary school children (7.1 ± 0.7 years, boys: 43.9%) ST was assessed objectively using a multi-sensor device (Actiheart®; CamNtech, Cambridge, UK). The sample was split into three groups (tertiles) to investigate SCT of children with low, medium and high ST. SCT and socio-demographic parameters, such as migration background, were assessed using a parental questionnaire; anthropometric data was collected at schools.

Results: Absolut SCT did not differ significantly among the three sedentary groups: Daily average of SCT was 83.8 ± 55.0 min (27.4% of ST) for children with high ST, 82.8 ± 50.5 min (39.8% of ST) for children with medium ST, and 77.2 ± 59.4 min (71.3% of ST) for those with low ST. However, relatively the SCT percentage of total ST was significantly higher among children with low ST (p < 0.01). Significantly higher SCT was found in children with migration background (p < 0.01), while underweight children had significantly less SCT (p < 0.05). An association of total SCT and overall ST was found for the whole sample (B = 17.11, [2.75; 31.48], p = 0.02), but did not remain when analysis were separated for the groups, except for normal weight children (B = 15.97, [0.13; 31.81], p = 0.05).

Conclusions: The amount of SCT is the same among high, low and medium sedentary children, and high ST is largely independent of SCT. Therefore, SCT cannot be the key contributor to high ST and should not solely be used for predicting or changing children's sedentary behaviour. Moreover, children's weight status to classify activity levels and the role of possible compensation mechanisms should be considered in future research and when trying to intervene on ST.

Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494 DATE: 25/08/2010.

Keywords: Primary school; Public health; Screen time; Sedentary lifestyle.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethic Committee of Ulm University gave approval and consent on 09.06.2010. The study was registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) with the following Number DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494 on 25/08/2010. To participate school’s leadership and teachers had to provide written, informed consent. For data collection of data, parents provided written, informed consent and children their assent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Daily amount of SCT on ST, separated for sedentary level, weight status, migration background, and gender. ST sedentary time, UW underweight, NW normal weight, OW overweight/obese, MB migration background, SCT screen time
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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