HEALTH BEHAVIOR

New risk from too much screentime

Teens — and everyone else, it seems — spend an unhealthy amount of time sitting, a new
survey finds
BY MARY BATES JUN 5, 2019 — 6:45 AM EST

A national survey shows Americans spend a lot of time sitting in front of screens.
g-stockstudio/iStock/Getty Images Plus

You might want to take this news standing up. A national survey finds that Americans of all ages
are spending more time sitting. And this has health experts worried.

Sitting too much — especially when watching television, phones or other screens — can be bad for
your health, research suggests. It has been linked to diseases such as diabetes and cancer. It also
has been tied to an increased risk of mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

In a new study, researchers analyzed survey data from more than 50,000 American children,
teenagers and adults. The surveys, which went from 2001 through 2016, asked people how much
time they spent sitting. The results of those surveys were published April 23 in the Journal of the
American Medical Association.

Overall, people reported sitting a lot. For instance, close to two-thirds of children and teens said
they sat at least two hours a day watching television or videos. The data also showed that
computer use outside of school or work has been increasing across all ages.

For adults and teens, the estimated total time sitting increased by nearly one hour a day between

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2007 and 2016. That means teens now sit more than eight hours a day.

Lin Yang is a public-health expert at Alberta

Health Services in Calgary, Canada. An author of
the new study, she notes that this trend is not
unique to the United States. “Studies out of
Europe and Australia have also found increases in
sitting time,” she says. “This includes sitting for
work or school as well as driving rather than
walking or riding a bike.”

In recent years, inactivity has emerged as an

Children, teens and adults all spend a lot of
time sitting, according to a new study. Teens
report sitting more than eight hours a day.
patat/iStock/Getty Images Plus
have been reducing opportunities for exercise during the school day.
important risk to overall health. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
updated its Physical Activity Guidelines for
Americans last year. It now highlights new
research about the dangers of excessive sitting.
“This new version recommends Americans not
only move more, but also sit less,” Yang says.
Erin O’Loughlin is an exercise psychologist at
Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. There
are many reasons children and teens have been
sitting more, she notes. These include less
outdoor play, more screen time and schools that

O’Loughlin studies how active video games — sometimes called “exergames” — can help kids move
more. “Sports are great. But you don’t have to play sports if that’s not your thing,” she says. To
up your active time and sit less, she recommends finding what works for you. “If you like screen
time, try to mix it with physical activity,” she says. “You can do this by playing active video
games.”

People tend to think they spend less time sitting and more time exercising. The first step to
getting healthier is becoming aware of how active — or inactive — you are, says O’Loughlin.
Activity trackers can help. Their apps give people the data to track trends. So can thinking about
which daily activities get you to move most.

“We all need to move more and sit less,” says Yang. “It’s important to not just switch from sitting
to standing but to actually move around.” And spending more time outside helps, she notes. This
is good for fitness and for exposure to the sun, an important source of the body’s vitamin D.

If getting more exercise sounds difficult, don’t stress: Take it one step at a time.

Power Words
(more about Power Words (https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/power-words-aid-
stem-literacy) )

anxiety A nervous reaction to events causing excessive uneasiness and apprehension. People with
anxiety may even develop panic attacks.

app Short for application, or a computer program designed for a specific task.

cancer Any of more than 100 different diseases, each characterized by the rapid, uncontrolled growth
of abnormal cells. The development and growth of cancers, also known as malignancies, can lead to
tumors, pain and death.

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depression (in medicine) A mental illness characterized by persistent sadness and apathy. Although
these feelings can be triggered by events, such as the death of a loved one or the move to a new city,
that isn’t typically considered an “illness” — unless the symptoms are prolonged and harm an individual’s
ability to perform normal daily tasks (such as working, sleeping or interacting with others).

diabetes A disease where the body either makes too little of the hormone insulin (known as type 1
disease) or ignores the presence of too much insulin when it is present (known as type 2 diabetes).

psychologist A scientist or mental-health professional who studies the human mind, especially in
relation to actions and behaviors.

risk The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure
to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks
that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)

stress (in psychology) A mental, physical, emotional or behavioral reaction to an event or

circumstance (stressor) that disturbs a person or animal’s usual state of being or places increased
demands on a person or animal; psychological stress can be either positive or negative.

survey To view, examine, measure or evaluate something, often land or broad aspects of a landscape.
(with people) To ask questions that glean data on the opinions, practices (such as dining or sleeping
habits), knowledge or skills of a broad range of people. Researchers select the number and types of
people questioned in hopes that the answers these individuals give will be representative of others who
are their age, belong to the same ethnic group or live in the same region. (n.) The list of questions that
will be offered to glean those data.

unique Something that is unlike anything else; the only one of its kind.

Readability Score:
7.4
Citation
Journal: L. Yang et al. Trends in sedentary behavior among the US population, 2001-2016
(https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2731178?guestAccessKey=7a264df9-860b-
4443-b743-
87fc1d7f6b2b&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_cont

. Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. 321, April 23, 2019, p. 1587. doi:
10.1001/jama.2019.3636.

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