Association Of Sedentary Behavior with Age and Gender in Finnish School-Age Children Based on Screen Time

Abstract

Background: The growth in screen time among children has raised public health concerns, emphasizing the significance of evaluating its impact on sedentary behavior and overall well-being. Objectives: The research intends to establish the prevalence of sedentary activity, primarily screen time conduct, among Finnish primary school pupils, and to examine how demographic parameters like age and gender contribute to these behaviors. It also highlights promising areas for technology-driven interventions aimed at improving physical activity. Methods: Utilizing secondary data from the ongoing Young Finns Study, this cross-sectional research analyzed a sample of 317 children aged 6–12 years. Quantitative data analysis was performed using R and SPSS version 27, employing correlation analysis and regression models to understand the effects of age and gender on sedentary behavior. Findings: The study revealed that Finnish children spend an overall screen time average of 348 minutes on both school days and weekends, with males and females spending 310 minutes and 392 minutes, respectively. Through the age-specific data, it’s evident that children aged 9 to 11 are a focal demographic for related research and interventions. The significant p-value of less than 0.001 and F-values ranging from 10.723 to 13.399 confirm that age is a relevant predictor, but gender is not, although girls had a slightly higher mean with only 6.4-7.9% of the variability in sedentary behavior. Weekends were found to be the most suitable period to implement technology-driven interventions, based on the results. The high variability suggests that additional factors such as parental guidance and academic workload may also be influential. Recommendations: Building on the findings, the study offers technology-driven initiatives that can make screen time more active, such as designing TV programs or games that encourage movement, and applications that reward physical exercise. Special concentration is urged on weekends since sedentary behavior is more widespread. Contributions: The research adds to current literature by giving an in-depth understanding of the incidence and influencing factors of sedentary behavior among Finnish primary school children. It delivers practical insights for the creation of technology-based interventions to promote physical activity levels.

背景：近年来，学龄儿童屏幕使用时间的增加引起了公共卫生领域的广泛关注，评估其对儿童久坐行为和整体健康的影响具有重要意义。 目标：本研究旨在调查芬兰学龄儿童的久坐行为（主要是屏幕使用时间），以及年龄和性别等人口统计学特征如何影响这些行为，并探索能够促进学龄儿童身体活动的技术驱动的干预措施。 方法：本研究为横断面研究，采用正在进行的“年轻芬兰人研究”项目的数据，分析了317名年龄在6-12岁之间的儿童样本。使用R软件和SPSS 27.0进行定量数据分析，并使用相关分析和回归模型来探索年龄和性别对久坐行为的影响。 发现：研究表明，芬兰学龄儿童平均每周的屏幕使用时间为348分钟，其中男性儿童平均每周310分钟，女性儿童为392分钟。回归模型显示，年龄是一个相关的预测因子，但性别不是。此外，较高的变异性表明，家长指导和学业负担等其他因素也可能产生影响。 建议：在研究结果的基础上，本研究提供了可以改善久坐行为的技术驱动干预的倡议，例如设计鼓励运动的电视节目或游戏，以及奖励体育锻炼的应用程序。由于学龄儿童久坐行为在周末更加普遍，因此周末需要额外的关注。 贡献：本研究通过深入了解芬兰学龄儿童的久坐行为及其影响因素，为该领域做出了贡献。同时，为提高学龄儿童体育锻炼水平的技术干预提供了实用的建议。