Screen-Based Sedentary Behaviors and Their Association With Metabolic Syndrome Components Among Adults in Mexico

Abstract

Introduction Approximately 25% of the adult population worldwide and 49.8% of Mexican adults have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the result of unhealthy dietary and sleeping patterns, sedentary behaviors, and physical inactivity. The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between sedentary behaviors as screenbased sedentary time (SBST) and each component of metabolic syndrome among adults who participated in the Mexico National Survey of Health and Nutrition Mid-way 2016. Methods We analyzed sociodemographic, clinical, and physical activity data from 3,166 adults aged 20 years or older. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to evaluate sedentary behavior. SBST was obtained by counting minutes per week spent watching television, playing video games, and interacting with computers and smartphones. We used Poisson regression to estimate the prevalence ratio of time in front of screens as a continuous variable and its association with metabolic syndrome. Results The mean (SD) hours per day of SBST in men was 3.6 (0.4) and in women was 2.8 (0.2). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 59.6%. In men, the risk for metabolic syndrome increased 4% (P