Sedentary Behavior Research in the Chinese Population: A Systematic Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: The negative effects of sedentary behavior (SB) on public health have been extensively documented. A large number of studies have demonstrated that high prevalence of SB is a critical factor of all-cause mortality. Globally, the frequency of SB research has continued to rise, but little is known about SB in the Chinese population. Therefore, this review was conducted to scope the research situation and to fill the gaps related to the effects of SB in the Chinese population. Methods: Using a scoping review based on York methodology, a comprehensive search of published journal articles and grey literature was carried out through 12 databases. The literature research was conducted by two authors in July 2019, and included journal articles that targeted on the Chinese population were published between 1999 and 2019. The two authors screened the records independently and included those research topics related to SB in the Chinese population. Results: The number of included studies increased from 1 to 29 per year during the analyzed period, during which, a remarkable climb happened from 8 in 2013 to 19 in July 2019. Out of the 1303 screened studies, a total of 162 studies (81 English and 81 Chinese journal articles) met the inclusion criteria in this review. Most of the included studies (66.0%) reported the overall estimated prevalence of SB, in which, 43.2% of studies reported the average time of SB, and 40.0% of studies reported the cutoff point of SB. Besides this, 54.9% and 23.5% of studies focused on the outcomes and correlates/determinants of SB, and the proportions of studies based on testing the validation of measurement tools and on interventions were 3.7% and 4.9%, respectively. Nearly all of the reviewed articles used data from cross-sectional studies (75.9%) and longitudinal studies (13.6%), while intervention trials are less developed. The majority of the studies (64.8%) used self-reported surveys, and only 3.7% studies used device-based measurement tools. Furthermore, 35.8% of the included studies were focused on children and adolescents, while only a few studies investigated infants/toddlers and older adults. Both female and male were examined in most studies, and non-clinical populations were investigated in the context of SB in a relatively large number of studies. Conclusions: The number of research articles on SB in the Chinese population published per year has increased year by year, indicating a growing interest in this research area. More studies using population subgroup samples are needed, particularly among infants/toddlers, older adults, and clinical populations. To provide stronger evidence of the determinants and outcomes of SB, longitudinal studies using device-based measures of SB are required.

Relationships between College Students’ Sedentary Behavior, Sleep Quality, and Body Mass Index

“…Similar findings were also reported in a recent systematic review study [2]. The results indicated that young adults reported more than 6 h (range: 6-10 h) of SB per day in China [2]. In addition, an international study that included 10 countries examined accelerometer-measured SB among adults, and found that the average time spent in SB was about nine hours [38], which is consistent with the time in SB observed in the current study.…”

“…We observed that college students spent about 77% of their daily wake time in SB, which account for 9.18 h of SB per day. Similar findings were also reported in a recent systematic review study [2]. The results indicated that young adults reported more than 6 h (range: 6-10 h) of SB per day in China [2].…”

“…The prevalence of sedentary behavior (SB) has reached epidemic levels, and is now a major public health problem [1][2][3][4]. SB is defined as any waking behavior characterized by an energy expenditure of less than 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs), such as sitting, reclining, or lying [5].…”

“…In China, many studies have been conducted in order to promote PA among this population; however, SB as an independent risk factor of health promotion has been rarely studied. Recently, a systematic scoping review synthesized 162 studies regarding the prevalence of SB in the Chinese population, and revealed a high prevalence of SB across various population groups [2]. However, only 3.7% of studies measuring SB adopted device-based instruments (i.e., accelerometer), and most of the studies (64.8%) were based on self-report questionnaires.…”

Home-based exercise can be beneficial for counteracting sedentary behavior and physical inactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults

“…Similar to other unhealthy behaviors (e.g., PI, diet), it has been recognized as a major risk to public health (e.g. increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality) (7). SB is also associated with the deterioration of physical and mental health (32) and the increased CVD risk (33).…”