Associations of physical activity, screen time, sleep duration with optimal eating habits among adolescents

The aim of this study was to explore the associations of physical activity, screen time and sleep duration with various eating habits among children.

The data were collected from six surveys of the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey conducted in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021, with a total of 78, 697 participants with complete information. Information on demographic characteristics (e.g., sex, age), physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, and eating habits was collected via a self-reported questionnaire. A series of logistic regressions were used to assess the association between independents and outcomes. Results were presented as odds ratio (OR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI).

A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of guidelines (i.e., physical activity, screen time, sleep) achieved by adolescents and improved eating habits compared to those not meeting any guidelines. For example, meeting any one (OR = 1.28, 95 % CI = 1.17-1.41), any two (OR = 1.47, 95 % CI = 1.33-1.62), and all three (OR = 2.13, 95 % CI = 1.73-2.61) guidelines were associated with more fruit consumption. Moreover, meeting all three guidelines was associated with a higher likelihood of meeting guidelines for fruit juice (OR = 1.41, 95 % CI = 1.23-1.60), fruit (OR = 2.13, 95 % CI = 1.74-2.62), other vegetables (OR = 1.56, 95 % CI = 1.33-1.84), milk (OR = 1.46, 95 % CI = 1.28-1.66), breakfast (OR = 2.80, 95 % CI = 2.41-3.25), and soda or pop (OR = 1.16, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.30) compared to not meeting any guidelines.

Findings from this population-based study indicate that meeting the combination of physical activity, screen time, sleep guidelines is associated with better eating habits. Notably, meeting the physical activity guidelines or its combination shows the strongest associations with favourable dietary habits among adolescents. Future research should further explore effective strategies to promote entire 24-h movement behaviours, especially physical activity, which can be useful to optimize eating habits in adolescents.