No changes in adolescent's sedentary behaviour across Europe between 2002 and 2017

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• High levels of sedentary behaviour (SB) in adolescents pose significant health and social risks.
• Previous research has highlighted concerns regarding adolescent SB, but longitudinal data for European Union (EU) adolescents is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in sedentary behaviour among adolescents aged 15-17 years in the EU from 2002 to 2017.
• To examine the prevalence of sedentary behaviour in relation to sex over the study period.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Sport and Physical Activity EU Special Eurobarometers (2002, 2005, 2013, 2017) for 2542 adolescents.
• Measured sedentary behaviour using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) sitting time question, defining excess SB as ≥4h30min daily.
• Employed chi-squared tests and Z-score tests to analyze prevalence changes over time and between sexes.

Main Results:

• Sedentary behaviour prevalence among EU adolescents consistently remained high, ranging from 74.2% to 76.8% across the survey years.
• Both girls (76.8%–81.2%) and boys (71.7%–76.7%) exhibited high levels of sedentary behaviour.
• No statistically significant differences in sedentary behaviour prevalence were found across the survey years or between sexes.

Conclusions:

• Sedentary behaviour prevalence in European adolescents is alarmingly high and has shown no significant improvement between 2002 and 2017.
• There are no discernible differences in sedentary behaviour prevalence between adolescent girls and boys in the EU.
• Recommendations include expanding the Eurobarometer adolescent sample for better country comparisons and including younger age groups in future surveys.