Obesity indicators 2018

Child sedentary activity

Source: Scottish Health Survey

Latest Results

• In 2017, children (aged 2 to 15 years) spent a mean time of 2.2 hours sitting watching a television or other screen^[20] on weekdays and 3.1 hours on weekend days (excluding time at school).
• The rates for all children have been relatively stable since 2003, at around 2.0 to 2.3 mean hours on weekdays and 2.7 to 3.1 hours on weekend days.
• Boys spent more time sitting watching a television or other screen than girls, particularly at weekends when the mean times recorded were 3.3 hours for boys and 2.9 hours for girls.

• The proportion of children spending four or more hours sitting watching a television or other screen on an average day (excluding time in school) in 2017 was 15% (16% for boys, 13% for girls).This was a slight increase compared to 2015 and 2016 (12% and 13% respectively), and remains lower than the proportion in 2003 (16%).

Figure 12. Proportion of children (2-15) spending four or more hours sitting watching TV/other screen, by gender, 2003-2017

Definition:

Time spent at a screen (TV or other screen such as a computer, games console or handheld gaming device) on an average day (including weekdays and weekends) excluding time at school.

Geography available:

National.

Equalities data:

Breakdowns by age, gender, SIMD and long-term conditions are possible, but not all are available annually.

Rationale for including child sedentary activity:

These data are useful to monitor the proportion of children engaging in sedentary behavior, such as hours spent sitting at screen on an average day.

Factors influencing child sedentary activity:

• Choice of leisure activities.
• Availability of alternatives to screen-based activity.
• Safe outdoor spaces to play.