24-hour activity guidelines and quality of life : how do teenagers measure up?

• Main Author: Ong, Rachel Cheng Yee
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Science::General
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153003
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Factors contributing to health are well known and have been studied by many. However, a sizeable proportion of students are still being classified as overweight or obese yearly. The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has also contributed to this problem due to home-based learning and people being discouraged to go out. In January 2021, Singapore published the Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines (IAG) to help encourage children and adolescents plan various types of activities in a day for a holistic approach to health. The study investigates lifestyle habits of adolescents and the proportion who meet the IAG recommendations, and whether these habits have drastically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 90 adults (Mage = 47.4, SD = 6.73; 51 fathers, 35 mothers, 4 legal guardians) completed a parent-report survey about their adolescents’ lifestyle habits. The survey examined the variables of physical activity, recreational screen time, diet, and sedentary behaviour in the form of sitting time. These variables were assessed using the Singaporean Children Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. A significant negative correlation was found between adolescents’ BMI and the number of IAG recommendations they followed, supporting that the IAG recommendations should be followed for better health outcomes. No other correlation proved to be statistically significant, though that may in part be due to the sample size (n = 90). This study presents new findings on which guidelines specifically adolescents are following, which could aid future initiatives to promote healthy lifestyle habits among adolescents. Keywords: Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, diet