Spanish adolescents and children spend more and more time in front of a screen and less exercising. This was determined by the Gasol Foundation, which this Tuesday presented data related to physical activity and the use of screens extracted from its study STEPS 2022. In this investigation they have been able to determine that minors invest more than three hours on weekdays in sedentary leisure. A figure that rises to almost five hours on weekends and which is more than double the WHO recommendation, which means not exceeding two hours a day.
The researchers in charge of the project have observed that this is an upward trend. The first PASOS report was published in 2019 and, three years later, minors spend 21 more minutes on electronic devices during the week and 12 more minutes on weekends. This inevitably leads to a reduction in physical activity. Now they spend almost seven minutes less exercising and only 29% comply with the WHO advice to practice at least 60 minutes of exercise a day.
Genís According to, technical coordinator of Research and Programs of the Gasol Foundation, assures that, although more studies are needed to study this relationship, it is clear that less and less time is devoted to moving leisure and more to sedentary leisure. A situation that he considers “alarming for all ages.” Paula Berruezo, also the organization’s technical research and program coordinator, explains that the figures they have presented are an indicator that the deterioration of healthy habits has spread to all population groups.
The group of girls is the one that has increased the most in these three years. At that time, they used screens much lower than children and now they have come worryingly close to their peers. They spend 7.8 minutes less on physical exercise (more than a minute below the general average) than in 2019, but 21 more minutes during the week and 13 on weekends on television, video games and mobile devices.
If the data is filtered by life stage, the greatest peak is observed in pre-adolescence (between the ages of 10 and 13). At the beginning of secondary education, sedentary leisure increases significantly, according to experts. A phenomenon that could be due to the fact that young people usually receive their first mobile phone at this age, although more research is needed to confirm this, says Berruezo. Students in 1st ESO (12 years old) spend almost half an hour more on screens than three years ago and have reduced their daily physical activity by 16 minutes.
The impact of socioeconomic level cannot be left out. Obesity is nearly twice as prevalent among the lowest-income youth. While among the poorest there is 16% obesity, among the richest the figure is almost half, 8.3%. It also influences the time spent on television and mobile devices. In lower-income households, 70% of minors exceed the use of screens recommended by the WHO during the week, a figure that rises to 85% on weekends.
In order to reverse this situation, Berruezo advocates promoting exercise from home. Walking or cycling to school, shopping or extracurricular activities and leaving screens out of family moments. Along the same lines, Genís According to adds that physical activity from home is key, since it facilitates adherence to sport when children grow up. Helmut Schröder, senior researcher at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, maintains that society must be educated even more about the benefits of sport and the harms of a sedentary lifestyle. “This information has not reached all parties and we have to sensitize the entire population”, he concludes.
You can follow THE COUNTRY Health and Well-being in Facebook, Twitter and instagram.
#Young #people #spend #double #time #recommended #screens