Abstract
Sedentary lifestyle patterns in children and adolescents, i.e. playing digital games,
using computers and especially watching television, have been associated with obesity.
However, not all sedentary behaviour has shown the same relevance to, and relationship
with, obesity. Therefore, we conducted a review including published studies found
in PubMed and other medical journals, dated between January 1990 and April 2007. The
ages of the children and adolescents who were the object of the study ranged between
2 and 18 years. For the purpose of this paper, we selected cross-sectional, longitudinal and
intervention studies. Sufficient evidence exists to recommend setting a limit to the
time spent watching TV, especially for younger children. However, video games and
computers do not represent such a high risk compared to watching TV, when they do
not replace physical activity too much. In fact, there is no evidence to suggest that
sedentary behaviour displaces physical activity levels. Mechanisms that explain the
link between sedentariness and obesity are also discussed. Finally, future studies
should take into account important mediators such as socioeconomic status and family
structure.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 17, 2007
Accepted:
July 10,
2007
Received in revised form:
June 22,
2007
Received:
February 9,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
