Few Teens Meet Sleep, Exercise, Screen-Time Guidelines

TUESDAY, Feb. 5, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Few adolescents meet sleep, physical activity, and screen-time guidelines concurrently, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Gregory Knell, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in Dallas, and colleagues used cross-sectional data from the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 cycles of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey to examine the prevalence and likelihood of adolescents meeting sleep, physical activity, and screen-time guidelines. The unweighted data set included 59,397 participants.

The researchers found that 5.0 percent of U.S. adolescents met the recommendations for sleep, physical activity, and screen time concurrently. A lower proportion of girls than boys met all three recommendations (3.0 versus 7.0 percent). Significant disparities in the odds of meeting all three recommendations were seen by age (adjusted odds ratios [aORs], 0.77 and 0.54, respectively, for those aged 16 and 17 years versus 14 years and younger), race/ethnicity (aORs, 0.31, 0.66, and 0.37, respectively, for non-Hispanic black, Hispanic/Latino, and non-Hispanic Asian versus non-Hispanic whites), body mass index (aORs, 0.80 and 0.57, respectively, for overweight and obesity versus normal weight), marijuana use (aOR, 0.81), and depressive symptoms (aOR, 0.44). The odds of meeting all recommendations concurrently were also reduced for girls who reported alcohol use versus those who did not use alcohol (aOR, 0.72).

“These findings demonstrate the need for future studies clarifying the role of parenting style and home environment,” the authors write.

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