Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, Use of Electronic Media, and Snacking among Youth: an International Study

This study examined physical activity, sedentary behaviours, location of electronic media and snacking among children from five countries. These variables were assessed by ecological momentary assessment (EMA) using a free-time diary. Data were obtained from 812 secondary-school students (348 male, 464 female) aged from 12 to 18 years in United Kingdom, China, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. We found that less than half the students met the recommended guideline of 60 minutes daily physical activity (48% of British, 40% of Romanian, 34% of Slovakian, 20% of Hungarian and only 4% of Chinese students met this criterion). Ninety-six percent of British and 86% of Hungarian youth had more than one TV set in their home, followed by Romanian (64%), Slovakian (64%) and Chinese (29%) counterparts. Most British (73%) youths had televisions in their bedroom, followed by Hungarians (66%), Romanians (37%), Slovakians (35%) and Chinese (4%). When compared to females, male students spent significantly more time on TV/DVD/ video viewing (on average 110.7 vs 90.2 minutes/day; p<.001) and playing computer games (on average 34.0 vs 10.5 minutes/day; p<.001). Students who had a TV in their bedroom spent more time watching TV compared to those without a TV in their bedroom (on average 109 vs 91 minutes/day, p<.001). Higher levels of TV viewing were associated with more snack food consumption (r=.13, p<.01). In order to promote less TV viewing and snacking, it may be useful to keep TVs out of the bedrooms of children and adolescents.