Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep Duration Among Youth With Chronic Health Conditions in the United States

Purpose: To compare the degree to which youth with and without chronic conditions in the United States met physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep duration guidelines. Design: A cross-sectional study using data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health. Participants: A total of 24 405 youth (aged 10-17 years) with and without 1 of 19 prevalent chronic health conditions who participated in the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health. Measures: Parents reported on the time spent by their children in PA, screen time, and sleep. Analysis: Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted to estimate and compare health behavior guideline adherence rates among children with and without chronic conditions. Results: Overall, 18.7% of children with chronic conditions did not meet any health behavior guidelines compared to 15.6% of children without chronic conditions. Children with hearing impairments, diabetes, and depression were most likely to not meet any health behavior guidelines (27.9%, 25.4%, and 21.7%, respectively). Of the 3 guidelines, children with and without chronic conditions were least likely to meet the PA guideline (18.6% and 21%, respectively). Conclusions: This study identifies specific groups of children with chronic conditions that are most at risk of not meeting health behavior guidelines. The findings highlight specific behaviors in most need of intervention for children with chronic conditions; PA was identified as the most frequently unmet guideline. Overall findings suggest a need for a more integrated, holistic view of health promotion for children with chronic conditions.