Too much sitting linked to higher risk of depression in adolescents: study
The research team used data from 4,257 adolescents. Depressive symptoms, such as low mood, loss of pleasure and poor concentration, were measured with a clinical questionnaire, Xinhua reports.
The researchers found that every additional 60 minutes of sedentary behaviour per day at age 12, 14 and 16 was associated with an increase in depression score of 11.1 percent, 8 percent or 10.5 percent respectively by age 18.
The team also found that those with consistently high amounts of time spent sedentary at all three ages had 28.2 percent higher depression scores by age 18.
«Our findings show that young people who are inactive for large proportions of the day throughout adolescence face a greater risk of depression by age 18,» said the study's lead author, PhD student Aaron Kandola at the UCL.
«We found that it's not just more intense forms of activity that are good for our mental health, but any degree of physical activity that can reduce the time we spend sitting down is likely to be beneficial,» Kandola said.