Physical Activity and Screen-Time Viewing Among Elementary School-Aged Children in the United States From 2009 to 2010

Objectives: To describe the percentage of children who met physical activity and screen-time recommendations and to examine demographic differences. Recommendations for school-aged children include 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and no more than 2 hours per day of screen-time viewing. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Data from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a representative sample of the US population. Participants: Analysis included 1218 children 6 to 11 years of age. Main Exposures: Age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, family structure, and obesity status. Main Outcome Measures: Proxy-reported adherence to physical activity and screen-time recommendations, separately and concurrently. Results: Based on proxy reports, overall, 70% of children met physical activity recommendations, and 54% met screen-time viewing recommendations. Although Hispanics were less likely to meet physical activity recommendations (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.60 [95% CI, 0.38-0.95]), they were more likely to meet screen-time recommendations compared with non-Hispanic whites (aOR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.18-2.43]). Only 38% met both recommendations concurrently. Age (9-11 years vs 6-8 years: aOR, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.38-0.85]) and obesity (aOR, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.38-0.73]) were inversely associated with concurrent adherence to both recommendations. Conclusions: Fewer than 4 in 10 children met both physical activity and screen-time recommendations concurrently. The prevalence of sedentary behavior was higher in older children. Low levels of screen-time viewing may not necessarily predict higher levels of physical activity. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;167(3):223-229. Published online January 7, 2013. doi:10.1001/2013.jamapediatrics.122