Overall Results
By Grade
By Socioeconomic Status
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) released the Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children and Youth in February 2011. The guidelines recommend children and youth aged 5-17 years should limit recreational screen time (e.g. watching television, playing video games or surfing the internet) to no more than 2 hours per day for health benefits.
Overall Results
According to the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), more than half (57% (52.4%, 60.6%)) of Simcoe Muskoka students (Grades 7-12) reported spending three or more hours each day watching TV or movies, playing video or computer games, on a computer or tablet chatting, emailing, or surfing the Internet in their free time. This was significantly lower than the 63% (60.7%, 64.4%) of Ontario students that reported three or more hours of sedentary screen time per day.
By Grade
In 2015 among Simcoe Muskoka students (Grades 7-12), significantly more high school students (grades 9-12) reported three or more hours of sedentary screen time each day when compared with elementary students in grades seven or eight: 61% (55.9%, 65.6%) for high school students vs. 45% (39.2%, 51.5%) for grade seven or eight students.
By Socioeconomic Status
In 2015 among Simcoe Muskoka students (Grades 7-12), significantly more students with lower perceived socioeconomic status (SES) reported three or more hours of sedentary screen time per day when compared with students with higher perceived SES: 68% (58.3%, 54.9%) among those with lowest perceived SES vs. 50% (43.8%, 55.9%) among those with highest perceived SES.
