A potential environmental paradox in India: Associations between air pollution precautions and sedentary behaviour among children and youth

The negative impact of ambient air pollution on movement behaviours in the global south is a significant concern. Yet, evidence about this complex relationship is limited. This study assessed how precautions taken to prevent ambient air pollution exposure are associated with sedentary behaviour among children and youth in India. Participants aged 5–17 years (N = 986) from 41 schools in 28 urban and rural areas across India completed online surveys to provide information on movement behaviours, including precautions taken to avoid exposure to air pollution, perception of built environment, and sedentary behaviour. Multivariate gamma regression models were developed, adjusting for sociodemographic variables with sedentary behaviour as the primary criterion variable. Apart from an overall sample model, six segregated models were built to understand age, gender, and geographical variations. Children and youth who reported taking precautions to prevent ambient air pollution exposure were associated with significantly higher daily minutes of sedentary behaviour in both the overall sample (β = 0.085, 95 % CI = 0.001, 0.169) and the 13 to 17 age group (β = 0.110, 95 % CI = 0.007, 0.227). However, being able to access outdoor physical activity facilities before or after school was associated with lower sedentary behaviour in the following models: overall, rural, 5 to 12 and 13 to 17 age groups, and boys and girls. To our knowledge, this is the first study to depict a potential paradoxical relationship between precautions taken to avoid exposure to ambient air pollution and higher sedentary behaviour among children and youth in India i.e., a health-preserving behaviour is perpetuating another chronic disease risk factor.