Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

The HELENA study is a cross-sectional survey on a sample of more than 3000 European adolescents (12.5 to 17.5 years), from 10 cities in 9 European countries. Representative and centralized sampling, strict standardization of methods and central data analysis contribute to the high scientific quality of the study. The proportion of teens accumulating 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day was 58% in boys and 31% in girls. However, it is not only important to assess the lack of physical activity, but also to identify behaviors during sedentary time. The most deleterious behavior in terms of health indicators is excess TV watching. It is associated with obesity development in children and adolescents. The main determinant of excess TV watching is to have a TV set in the adolescent bedroom. A high percentage of adolescents have a TV set in their bedroom. An important public health measure to prevent obesity in adolescents would be to remove the TV set from the bedroom. It is also recommended not to spend more than 2 hours per day in front of a screen. To reduce sedentary time in adolescents should contribute to reduce overweight, obesity, and their metabolic complications. The HELENA Study takes place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT-2005-007034). The content of this abstract reflects only the author’s views and the European Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Biography

Luis A. Moreno is Professor of Public Health at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). He is also Visiting Professor of Excellence at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). He did his training as Medical Doctor and his PhD thesis at the University of Zaragoza. He studied Human Nutrition and Public and Community Health at the University of Nancy (France). He has participated in several research projects supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health, and the European commission (HELENA, IDEFICS, EURRECCA, ENERGY, ToyBox, iFamily and Feel4Diabetes). He has published more than 450 papers in peer reviewed journals.