A time-use survey in a South Indian city found most sedentary time came from class and studying, not just leisure.

Adolescents in a mid-sized South Indian city averaged 528 minutes a day in sedentary activities, across 7.3 bouts. Most of that time was school and studying, not leisure. Private school students spent far more time sedentary than government school students.

Quick summary

• What the study found: Students averaged almost nine hours per day sedentary; private school students had much higher sedentary time, especially from learning and commuting; girls and boys had similar total sedentary time but different activity mixes.
• Why it matters: Sedentary behavior in adolescence can track into adulthood, and here it is strongly tied to schooling structures and transport, not only “screen time.”
• What to be careful about: The data come from a single city sample and rely on a 24-hour time-use survey, so it cannot prove causes or represent all adolescents.

The journal article Have sedentary lifestyles reached even remote parts of the Global South? Evidence from school-going adolescents’ time use in India puts a number on a pattern many educators and parents suspect: long stretches of sitting are becoming normal even outside major metros. The study assessed school-going adolescents ages 12–17 using a 24-hour time-use survey and estimated daily sedentary minutes and bouts. The bottom line was blunt: sedentary time was high, and much of it was “productive” sitting tied to education.

What was found

Across the sample, adolescents averaged 7.3 sedentary bouts per day totaling 527.7 minutes. The largest component was school and learning at 381.5 minutes, followed by sedentary leisure at 112.1 minutes. Sedentary travel averaged 22.7 minutes, and passive sitting or lying time averaged 11.4 minutes.

Private school students were markedly more sedentary than government school students. Their total sedentary time was 658 minutes versus 478 minutes, and they had more sedentary bouts (8.75 versus 6.76). They also reported much more sedentary travel (62.7 minutes versus 7.3 minutes).

What it means

This pattern reframes sedentary behavior as a schedule design issue, not only a motivation issue. If two thirds of sedentary time is school, tutoring, and homework, then the “fix” cannot rely on telling teens to limit leisure sitting alone. Changing the sitting load has to include how learning time is structured.

The results also highlight how advantage can carry a hidden health cost. Private school students, despite socioeconomic advantages, were described as especially vulnerable for cardiometabolic disease because their day involved more sitting, more studying, and more vehicle-based commuting.

Where it fits

Sedentary lifestyles often develop during adolescence and can track into adulthood, with links to later chronic disease and lower quality of life. The study adds evidence from a middle-income setting, showing high sedentary time in a “remote but globalizing” city. It also aligns with the idea that environments and expectations shape behavior: academic pressure, transport access, and school placement can build sitting into daily life.

How to use it

For schools, the most direct lever is to break up long sitting blocks during class and tutoring. Short movement breaks, standing explanations, and built-in transitions reduce uninterrupted sedentary time without reducing instructional minutes. For families, the target is not only screens but also recovery from long study days: plan active commuting when possible and add light activity after tutoring or homework.

For program planners, separate “sedentary leisure” from “sedentary learning” instead of treating all sitting as the same problem. The study shows both matter, but they likely require different solutions: curriculum design versus home media routines.

Limits & what we still don’t know

The findings are based on a 24-hour time-use survey in one South Indian city with school-going adolescents, so generalizability is uncertain. The design estimates prevalence and group differences but does not establish what causes higher sedentary time. It also cannot tell whether reducing learning-related sitting would change health outcomes in this group.

Closing takeaway

In this sample, adolescents spent almost nine hours a day sedentary, and the biggest driver was school and studying. Private school students accumulated substantially more sedentary time, amplified by long commutes and more learning time. If you want to reduce adolescent sedentarism, the fastest gains are likely inside the school day, not just after it.

Data in this article is provided by PLOS.

Related Articles

• Hemodialysis patients had low quality of life, tied to education, insurance, smoking, and years on dialysis
• Psoriasis linked to higher odds of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in survey data
• Multimodal aspiration prevention reduced aspiration and pneumonia in stroke rehabilitation patients
• Climate change harms outdoor workers’ mental health, physical safety, and productivity across 62 studies
• Virtual reality did not significantly change rowing muscle fatigue in trained men during ergometer exercise
• Pharmacy teams accepted a mental health inpatient risk tool and refined it after early usability feedback
• LIVEBORN newborn resuscitation feedback proved feasible and usable
• Parents of autistic children reported heavy strain and relied on coping rituals
• When ADHD Care Works, It’s Usually Because the System Finally Does
• Breast cancer patients valued mental health care but avoided using it, shaped by stigma and access confusion
• Higher health risk boosts public participation and compliance in healthcare safety