A Comparison of Meeting Physical Activity and Screen Time Recommendations between Canadian Youth Living in Rural and Urban Communities: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Analysis

Meeting the physical activity (PA) and recreational screen time recommendations for children and young people is associated with several health benefits. The purpose of this study was to compare the odds of meeting PA and recreational screen time recommendations between the Canadian youth living in urban versus rural communities. We analyzed nationally representative cross-sectional data collected as part of the 2017-2018 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey among young people aged 12-17 years. PA and screen time were self-reported. Sex-specific multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of meeting individual and combined PA and recreational screen time recommendations by rural and urban status after adjusting for individual, socioeconomic, and seasonal covariates. The odds of meeting the PA recommendation were not statistically significantly different among males (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.86-1.18) or females (OR 1.05, 95% CI: 0.99-1.11) living in urban versus rural communities. The odds of meeting the recreational screen time recommendations were statistically significantly lower among male (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.65-0.77) and female (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86) youth living in urban compared to those in rural communities. The odds of meeting the combined PA and screen time recommendations were statistically significantly lower among urban males (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.71-0.81) but not females (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.58-1.15) than those from rural communities. These findings suggest that residential context (i.e., urban versus rural) may have a differential impact on meeting the combined PA and screen time recommendations among the male and female Canadian youth. Future research should investigate these differences using device-based measures.

Automated summary

Meeting the recommendations for physical activity and recreational screen time is important for the health of young people in Canada, and there are differences between urban and rural communities in meeting these recommendations.