The correlates of after-school sedentary behavior among children aged 5–18 years: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents spend a large proportion of the after-school period in sedentary behaviors (SB). Identifying context-specific correlates is important for informing strategies to reduce these behaviors. This paper systematically reviews the correlates of children’s and adolescents’ after-school SB. METHODS: A computerized literature search was performed in October 2015 for peer-reviewed original research journal articles published in English before October 2015. Eligibility criteria included: 1) sample aged 5–18 years; 2) quantified the amount of SB or component of this that the children/adolescents were performing after school; 3) a measure of SB as the dependent outcome; and 4) the association between potential correlates and after-school SB. RESULTS: Data were synthesized in October 2015. Thirty-one studies met the eligibility criteria: 22 studies among children (≤12 years), six among adolescents (>12 years), two had a combined sample of children and adolescents and one cohort followed children from childhood to adolescence. Findings were separated by after-school location i.e. after-school programs (n = 4 studies) and unidentified locations (n = 27). There was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on all but two of the 58 potential correlates: sex and age. Among children at unidentified locations there was a null association between sex (male) and overall after-school SB, a null association between sex (male) and after-school TV viewing, a positive association between age and overall after-school SB and an inconsistent association between age and after-school TV viewing. No correlates of after-school sedentary behaviour while at after-school programs were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Only two correlates have been investigated frequently enough to determine an overall association; neither correlate is modifiable. Due to the lack of consistent investigation of potential correlates, further evidence is required to accurately identify potential intervention targets. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42014009180 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2659-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.