Comparing three screen-based sedentary behaviours’ effect upon adolescents’ participation in physical activity: The ESSENS study

Background: Literature focusing on the association between sedentary
behaviours and physical activity has provided equivocal results and has
been dominated by TV viewing as the indicator of sedentary behaviour.
There is a need for more studies exploring the association between
contemporary screen activities and physical activity among youth. Methods:
A cross-sectional study including 742 adolescents was conducted in 2016.
Data were collected at school through an online questionnaire. Regression
analyses were used to explore the association between different
screen-based sedentary behaviours and participation in physical activity.
Results: The results showed that those with lower (vs higher) time spent
on TV/movie streaming and electronic game playing both on weekdays and
weekend days had significantly higher odds of participating in physical
activity. There were no significant associations between
socializing/surfing online both on weekdays and weekend days and physical
activity in adjusted models. Conclusions: TV/movie streaming and
electronic game playing during both weekdays and weekend days were
significantly inversely related with participating in physical activity.
Initiatives aimed at reducing screen-based sedentary activities might
result in favourable effects on physical activity levels among
adolescents.