Physical activity and sedentary screen time in obese and overweight children living in different environments

Abstract

Aim: To assess the relationship of children’s physical activity and sedentary screen time with overweight and obesity in children living in different environments (town and city) in Lithuania. Methods: An analysis of anthropometric data from 532 children living in town and city areas was performed. A youth physical activity questionnaire (YPAQ) was conducted to evaluate physical activity and sedentary screen time. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the children was 25.5% in the town and 18.6% in the city. Children living in the town on average engaged 9.3 min/day less in moderate to vigorous physical activity (p = 0.050) and had 33.2 MET-min/day lower energy expenditure than children living in the city. Sedentary screen time was extremely high on weekends in both town and city children. Conclusions: A higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and a lower amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was found in children living in the town compared to children living in the city.