Sedentary time among undergraduate students: A systematic review
Abstract
Objective To systematically review and synthesize all relevant literature to assess the range of average daily sedentary time (ST) of undergraduate students enrolled in university and college programs across the world. Methods: Published, peer-reviewed articles were included if they: (a) were in English; (b) had a study population that consisted entirely of undergraduate students; (c) reported a daily or weekly ST for undergraduate students; and (d) included a measure of ST using a valid sedentary behavior questionnaire or accelerometers. Results: Twenty-three studies were included in the review. A wide range of ST (0.75 to 14.35 hours per day) was reported. Mean ST as measured by domain-specific questionnaires and accelerometers was 11.10 hours per day and 10.69 hours per day, respectively. Conclusion: Findings suggest that some undergraduate students participate in high levels of ST. Additional research, as well as interventions focused on reducing ST among postsecondary students, are needed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
University students spend substantial amounts of time engaged in sedentary behavior, with average daily sedentary time often approaching or exceeding 10 h per day.
“Studies have indicated that university students spend substantial amounts of time engaged in sedentary behavior, such as attending lectures, reading, or performing computer-based tasks, with average daily sedentary time often approaching or exceeding 10 h per day [8].”
From Effect of classroom physical activity breaks on learning behaviors and academic achievements in university students: a systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
PRISMA-P Group, Moher, D., Shamseer, L., Clarke, M., Ghersi, D., Liberati, A., Petticrew, M., Shekelle, P., & Stewart, L. A. (2015) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/2046-4053-4-1 · Cited by 26,223 · see citing works
Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN)—Terminology Consensus Project process and outcome
on behalf of SBRN Terminology Consensus Project Participants, Tremblay, M. S., Aubert, S., Barnes, J. D., Saunders, T. J., Carson, V., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Chastin, S. F. M., Altenburg, T. M., & Chinapaw, M. J. M. (2017) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0525-8 · Cited by 3,793 · see citing works
Patterson, R., McNamara, E., Tainio, M., de Sá, T. H., Smith, A. D., Sharp, S. J., Edwards, P., Woodcock, J., Brage, S., & Wijndaele, K. (2018) · European Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s10654-018-0380-1 · Cited by 1,423 · see citing works
Emerging adulthood and college-aged youth: An overlooked age for weight-related behavior change
Nelson, M. C., Story, M., Larson, N. I., Neumark‐Sztainer, D., & Lytle, L. A. (2008) · Obesity · doi:10.1038/oby.2008.365 · Cited by 1,314 · see citing works
Prevalence of university students’ sufficient physical activity: A systematic review
Irwin, J. D. (2004) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.98.3.927-943 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Self-citationPhysical Activity Patterns in University Students: Do They Follow the Public Health Guidelines?
Clemente, F. M., Nikolaidis, P. T., Martins, F. M. L., & Mendes, R. S. (2016) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152516 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Keating, R., Ahern, S., Bisgood, L., Mernagh, K., Nicolson, G. H., & Barrett, E. M. (2022) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1847119 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Dupont, F., Oliva, F., Pitois, L., Chagnon, M., DeFátima Guimarães, R., & Mathieu, M.-E. (2025) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2024.2427065 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Deng, Q., Wu, C., & Yang, L. (2026) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-026-01936-7
“Studies have indicated that university students spend substantial amounts of time engaged in sedentary behavior, such as attending lectures, reading, or performing computer-based tasks, with average daily sedentary time often approaching or exceeding 10 h per day [8].”
- Authors
- Moulin, M. S., Truelove, S., Burke, S. M., & Irwin, J. D.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Moulin, Marc S.
- Venue
- Journal of American College Health
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-09-13
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 237-244
- ISSN
- 0164-4300 (ISSN-L)
- 0744-8481
- 1940-3208
- OpenAlex
- W2972741809
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9
- FWCI
- 0.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of American College Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Scholarship@Western (Western University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Keywords
- sedentary behavior, undergraduate students, university students, accelerometry
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Students, Universities, Sedentary Behavior
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
