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. 2023 Jan 24;18(1):e0280957.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280957. eCollection 2023.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep in the Thai population: A compositional data analysis including 135,824 participants from two national time-use surveys

Nucharapon Liangruenrom  1 , Dorothea Dumuid  2   3 , Zeljko Pedisic  4
Affiliations

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep in the Thai population: A compositional data analysis including 135,824 participants from two national time-use surveys

Nucharapon Liangruenrom et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the amounts of time spent in physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), and sleep in the Thai population, as well as their sociodemographic correlates and changes over time.

Methods: We analysed cross-sectional data collected in a population-representative, stratified random sample of 135,824 Thais aged 10 years and over as part of the two most recent Thai National time-use surveys (2009 and 2015). Daily activities reported by the participants were coded using the International Classification of Activities for Time-Use Statistics (ICATUS) and categorised as PA, SB, or sleep.

Results: In the latest survey, participants spent on average the largest amount of time sleeping (geometric mean [g] = 9.44 h/day; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.42, 9.47), followed by PA (g = 8.60 h/day; 95% CI: 8.55, 8.64) and SB (g = 5.96 h/day; 95% CI: 5.93, 6.00). The time spent in PA was higher on weekdays, while the amounts of SB and sleep were higher on weekends (p < 0.05). Males, older age groups, and unemployed people spent less time in PA and more time in SB, compared with other population groups (p < 0.05). We found a relatively large increase in SB (mean difference [d] = 39.64 min/day; 95% CI: 36.18, 42.98) and decrease in PA (d = 54.33 min/day; 95% CI: -58.88, -49.30) over time. These findings were consistent across most sociodemographic groups, with the most concerning shifts from active to sedentary lifestyle found among people with a higher education degree and on weekends.

Conclusions: Our findings revealed a shift to a more sedentary lifestyle in the Thai population. Public health interventions should focus on improving time use among males, older age groups, and unemployed people, while preventing the rapid decrease in PA and increase in SB among those with a higher education degree and on weekends.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Compositional means of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep time in the Thai population in 2009 and 2015.
The orange and blue circles on the graph represent the compositional means in 2009 and 2015, respectively. The orange and blue dots on the graph represent individual data points in 2009 and 2015, respectively. The orange and blue lines represent the 95% confidence boundaries for the compositional means in 2009 and in 2015, respectively. PA = physical activity; SB = sedentary behaviour.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Mean difference in physical activity from 2009 to 2015. Mean changes in physical activity from 2009 to 2015 (circles) and their 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (whiskers).
Fig 3
Fig 3
Mean difference in sedentary behaviour from 2009 to 2015. Mean changes in sedentary behaviour from 2009 to 2015 (circles) and their 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (whiskers).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Mean difference in sleep duration from 2009 to 2015.
Mean changes in sleep duration from 2009 to 2015 (circles) and their 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (whiskers).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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