[Changes in amateur static behavior of school children and adolescents aged 6-17 in China from 2002 to 2016].

Objective: To analyze the changes in amateur static behavior patterns of school children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old in China from 2002 to 2016.

Methods: Using physical activity data from the 2002 and 2016 Surveys/Surveillance of the Nutrition and Health Status Survey of Chinese Residents, comparative analyses were conducted to analyze the free time for static behaviors, the number of hours of reading on paper, and the number of hours of recreational electronic screen use and their compositional changes among schoolchildren and adolescents.

Results: From 2002 to 2016, the median daily amateur static activity time of Chinese children and adolescents decreased from 120.0 minutes to 102.9 minutes, while the mean time increased from 118.0 minutes to 127.1 minutes. The median time spent reading paper materials decreased from 30 minutes to 20 minutes. Conversely, the median time spent using recreational electronic screens increased significantly, from 60.0 minutes to 77.1 minutes. The proportion of children and adolescents in educational institutions who exceeded the recommended threshold for electronic screen time exhibited a notable increase, rising from 44.0% in 2002 to 59.8% in 2016. With regard to recreational electronic screen use, television was the dominant device in 2002, accounting for 94.2% of all screen time. By 2016, television, cell phones, and computers/tablet computers accounted for 47.8%, 33.5%, and 12.0%, respectively, of the total time spent on electronic devices. The proportion of time spent watching television by children and adolescents demonstrated a downward trend with age, while the proportion of time spent on other electronic products exhibited an upward trend, with a particularly pronounced increase in the use of cell phones by high school students aged 15-17 and children and adolescents in rural areas.

Conclusion: Between 2002 and 2016, the amateur static behavior patterns of Chinese schoolchildren and adolescents aged 6-17 years underwent large changes. The proportion of individuals with high amateur static behavior increased, recreational electronic screen time use showed an upward trend, and the proportion of people with undesirable electronic screen use was high.