Background: The combined movement behavior guidelines for adolescents recommend ≥60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity, ≤2 h of screen time, and 8-10 h of sleep. Considering that the information available on this topic in the young Latin American population is rare, this study aimed to identify the proportion of a sample of Brazilian adolescents meeting individual guidelines as well as the combination of the three healthy movement behavior guidelines. In addition, another objective of the study was to examine the effects of compliance with these guidelines on cardiometabolic health markers.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional school-based study, with the participation of 306 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. A questionnaire with structured questions was applied to collect data on physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration. Cardiometabolic health was assessed by the calculation of a continuous risk score, including twelve markers related to body fat, blood pressure, plasma lipids and lipoproteins, glycemia, and insulin.
Results: Only 4.8% (4.3-5.4) of the adolescents met the three healthy movement behavior guidelines, while 9.3% (8.4-10.4) of the sample did not meet any of the guidelines. No significant difference between sexes was found in the simultaneous compliance of the three movement guidelines. Adolescents who did not meet any of the movement guidelines were twice as likely to have higher cardiometabolic risk (OR = 2.05 (1.41-3.17)) than their peers who met all three guidelines.
Conclusions: Considering the high proportion of adolescents who did not meet the movement behavior guidelines and the negative effects on cardiometabolic health, it is suggested that future policies and interventions should consider an integrated and holistic approach aimed at simultaneous actions of maximizing physical activity, minimizing screen time, and ensuring sufficient sleep duration.
Keywords: adolescent behavior; health habits; health-promoting behaviors; youths.