Over 3 hours of sedentary behaviour may increase mental health risk in teenagers

Teenagers and adolescents who spend more than three hours a day engaged in sedentary behaviours which includes playing video games or increased screen exposure have a higher risk of facing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression according to a studyThe study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health showed that adolescents who spent more than 180 minutes a day on screens for leisure were associated with greater psychological distress at age 17Video games were particularly influential with each additional hour associated with a 3 per cent increase in psychological distress Those who spent more than three hours a day reading for leisure especially boys also reported more psychological distressAt the same time moderate screen exposure between 60 and 119 minutes per day invested in educational activities such as doing homework or attending classes was considered a protective factor associated with less psychological distressSedentary behaviour includes a variety of activities such as using a computer watching television reading listening to music or attending class Most research focuses on analysing total sitting time but we can have positive sedentary activities such as attending class and doing homework for example And there are activities that are not beneficial such as spending too much time on the Internet or playing video games explained Andre de Oliveira Werneck doctoral student at the School of Public Health of the University of Sao Paulo FSPUSP in BrazilSedentary behaviour among adolescents has become a growing problem worldwide Besides increasing physical health risks such as obesity and cardiovascular disease it can also affect mental health increasing feelings of anxiety and depressionTo understand the team from Kings College London in the UK collected information from 3675 adolescents when they were 14 years old and then at the age of 17 At 14 the participants were asked to complete a diary in which they recorded their general physical activity time spent sleeping recreational screen time nonscreen recreational time and educational sedentary behaviourAt age 17 the same participants reported their psychological distressWhile previous research has shown that reading is associated with better mental health outcomes and other healthy behaviours the new research suggests that excessive reading may be harmful in some casesAdolescents who spend many hours reading are displacing time that could be spent on activities with facetoface or outdoor social interactions which are protective leading to greater isolation the researchers said In addition it is possible that some of the reading is done on screen devices cell phones computers or tablets which is also harmfulBased on the findings the researchers suggested interventions such as setting clear limits on screen time and encouraging more educational and structured screen activities rather than passive recreational screen timeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever