The Emerging Role of Sedentary Behaviour in the Health of Youth and Young Adults: Should There be a Recommended Threshold of Sedentary Behaviour Permissible?

Dear Colleagues,

Evidence suggests that sedentary behaviour and physical activity operate as independent risk factors for health throughout a lifespan. However, unlike physical activity, there are few recommendations or suggestions for a “healthy” amount of time spent sedentary. Given the potential for sedentary behaviour to contribute to poor health outcomes, particularly in youth and young adults, there is a need to determine what are acceptable limits of this behaviour, and if these limits should inform governmental recommendations for the populations they serve.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute relevant research in this area. The aim of this Special Issue is to critically examine the role of sedentary behaviour in health in children to young adults (approximate ages 5–21). This can include examinations of environmental and lifestyle factors associated with sedentary behaviour in this population. This topic broadly covers the journal’s focus on multi-disciplinary research discovery in public health among children, health behaviours, health promotion, and chronic disease.

This Special Issue will compile the most recent, evidence-based research that informs the impact of sedentary behaviour on youth and young adults, including amounts, types, frequency, duration, and nature of behaviours and how they affect health. An emphasis on the “dose” of sedentary behaviour is welcome, as the goal is to contribute to recommendations for how much sedentary time is “permissible” for good health in youth in order to prevent poor outcomes later in life.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: randomized trials examining sedentary behaviour interventions in children through young adults, reviews and meta-analyses compiling evidence of sedentary behaviour impacts in children through young adults, and intervention studies adjusting or controlling amounts of sedentary behaviour in children through to young adults.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Lynne M. Boddy
Dr. Matthew Chrisman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• sedentary behaviour
• sitting time
• standing time
• physical activity
• children
• youth
• young adults