S02-2 Socioeconomic determinants of physical activity, sleep and screen time among children aged 6-9 years of age in Europe

Abstract Background Physical activity is key for preventing obesity and development of noncommunicable diseases later in life. Previous research suggests that socioeconomic factors, such as parental education or income, may influence a child’s risk of obesity. However, previous research on this has provided heterogeneity in results. Our aim was to investigate the socioeconomic disparities between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep patterns in school-aged children aged 6 to 9 years in 24 European countries, using a large nationally-representative sample of children from 24 countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation – only Moscow, San Marino Republic, Spain, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Turkmenistan). Methods COSI collected information on physical activity patterns of children, sedentary behaviour and sleep duration through a questionnaire filled by parents. Among these, the paper focused on the following behaviours: Transportation to and from schools, Time spent on practising sports, Time spent on actively/vigorously playing, Time spent watching TV or using electronic devices and Hours of sleep per night. For the paper purpose, countries were grouped in 4 macro-regions according to United Nations “Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use”. Results Findings indicated that a high prevalence of motorized school transport among children of employed parents in Southern Europe. The highest prevalence of insufficient sports and active play was among families from West-Central Asia who meet the end of the month with troubles, the highest prevalence of excessive screen time is among families from Eastern Europe, where both parents have a low level of education and the highest prevalence of insufficient sleep is among families from West-Central Asia where both parents have a high level of education. Conclusions There are important differences in the socioeconomic determinants of PA, sleep and screen related behaviours both between countries and sub-regions across the WHO European Region. This analysis of results from the COSI survey provides important insights that can help guide policy makers to take action to address the childhood obesity epidemic.