Teen inactivity linked to limited park access, social media use: Study

Poor access to parks could be deterring teens in countries such as India and Bangladesh from being active, whereas in rich countries social media could be a hindrance, a study has found.

Researchers, including those from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, found that teenagers in India had an average of 1.2 electronic devices in the bedroom and 0.5 personal electronic devices, while in Denmark, the average was 4.2 and 2.3, respectively.

Fewer than 30 per cent of adolescents in India and Bangladesh reported having a personal social media account, compared to countries of higher socio-economic status, where the figure was over 90 per cent, the team found.

Despite differences in culture, environments and sedentary time, patterns of association were generally similar across countries, said lead author Ranjit Mohan Anjana of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialties Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

The researchers used accelerometer data from nearly 4,000 adolescents aged 11 to 19 years. Survey data on sedentary behaviour from over 6,300 participants from across 14 geographically and culturally diverse countries were analysed.

Adolescents reporting less screen time lived in walkable neighbourhoods and had better perceptions of safety from traffic and crime, the researchers said. Concerns related to traffic and crime were found to influence a teenager's chances of being active.

"Both home and neighbourhood environment features were related to sedentary time and sedentary behaviour. Having social media accounts emerged as a major contributor towards sedentarism in adolescents,” the authors wrote in the study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

They added that teenagers around the world are possibly spending eight to ten hours a day performing sedentary activities, such as watching television and playing video games, an excess of which is linked to multiple disorders, including obesity, diabetes and mental ones.

Parents of teenagers in Australia reported having good access to parks, while those in Nigeria reported no access and those in Bangladesh and India reported poor access. While traffic was found to be a concern among parents in Brazil, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, and Israel, concerns related to crime were high in the first three countries, the authors said.

Girls living in neighbourhoods that encouraged physical activity were less likely to be performing sitting activities, they added. "Together, parents, policymakers and technology companies can work together to reduce access to screens, limit social media engagement and promote more physical activity, thus helping adolescents develop healthier habits and reduce their risk of chronic diseases," Anjana said.