Increased mechanization and technological advances have simplified our lives on the one hand and increased sedentary behaviors on the other hand, paving the way for emerging global health concerns, i.e., sedentarism, which could be the leading cause of all major chronic health problems worldwide. Sedentarism is a habitual behavior of choosing and indulging in low-energy expenditure activities (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents), such as chairtype (sitting, studying, traveling) or screen-type activities (TV, computers, mobile). With technological advancements, there is a significant transition in the lifestyles of people from being active (walking) to being more deskbound (sitting). Prolonged sitting can have unintended consequences for health with sitting time >7 h/d, leading to a 5% increase in all-cause mortality with each additional hour spent sitting (i.e., +7 h/d), while considering physical activity levels. This review will highlight how sedentarism is emerging as a major risk factor for the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially among young adults and adults. Chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cancer, are the leading causes of death worldwide. Hence, there is an urgent need for collective action to mitigate the burgeoning public health crisis posed by sedentarism in the 21st century. This paper intends to set in motion a call for all policymakers and public health professionals placed nationally or internationally to reach a consensus on ending sedentarism and provide viable resolutions for effective management of excessive sedentary behaviors and healthy adoption and maintenance of active lifestyles among individuals of all age groups.

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Background
Breakfast consumption is related not only with foods and nutrients intake, but also obesity, chronic diseases, school performance, and cognitive function. This study is to assess factors associated with breakfast skipping and its effects on food and nutrients intake in 5th grade children from the obesity and metabolic disorders cohort. Methods: BMI percentile was used as an obesity index. Overnight fasting blood was collected to measure blood lipids, and glucose level. Dietary habits and physical activity levels were assessed with a self-fi lled questionnaire. If a student said "yes" to the question, "Have you taken all breakfast during previous seven days?," he or she was considered as 'breakfast consumer,' if a respondent said "no," he or she was considered as 'breakfast skipper.' Nutrients intake was estimated from a three-day 24-hour recall including two weekdays and one weekend. Results: Among 1,536 students, 30.1% (n = 235) of boys and 31.3% (n = 231) of girls were the breakfast skipper. The breakfast skippers were more obese (P = 0.011), from families with lower household income (P = 0.037), went to bed late (P = 0.001), had a longer screen time (P = 0.003) than breakfast consumers. All macronutrients intake and the adequacy of micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, niacin, and folate) intake were lower in breakfast skipper. Conclusion: The breakfast skipping was associated with a lower socioeconomic state and a longer screen time. We confi rmed breakfast skipping is a risk factor of nutrients defi ciency (quantity) and is also related with food intake quality.

Citations

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Background
It has been reported that the abdominal obesity can cause various metabolic abnormalities not only in adults but also in adolescents. This study was conducted to investigate lifestyle habits related to abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study on 561 adolescents (305 boys and 256 girls) aged 12-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005. The abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference at or above the 90th percentile for each age and gender based on the 2007 growth chart for Korean children. The frequency of physical activity, screen time, and the intake amount of energy and macronutrients were investigated as lifestyle habits. Results: The prevalence of abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents aged 12-18 years was 9.1% (Boys, 9.4%; Girls, 8.7%). The mean of daily screen time was 4.3 ± 0.1 hours (Boys, 4.4 ± 0.2 hours; Girls, 4.2 ± 0.2 hours). The subjects with daily screen time ≥ 5 hours had a 3.0 times increased risk of abdominal obesity compared to subjects with daily screen time < 3 hours (P-value = 0.004). The adjusted odds ratio of fat intake ≥ 35% of energy was 2.57 (95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 5.68; P-value = 0.020) with fat intake < 25% of energy as reference. The relationship between long screen time and abdominal obesity was observed in girls and high fat intake was related to abdominal obesity in boys. Conclusion: This study shows that abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents is associated to long screen time and high fat intake.

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