Physical activity and sedentary behaviour combine into heterogeneous lifestyle profiles in adolescents, with lower physical activity not necessarily coinciding with higher sedentary time, while selected sleep-duration and eating-regularity characteristics were associated with the high moderate-to-vigorous activity/lower sedentary profile.
Key Findings
Results
Three distinct physical activity-sedentary behaviour profiles were identified among Polish adolescents, with the majority belonging to a lower physical activity profile.
The three profiles were: a walking-dominant activity profile (C1; n = 645; 19.50%), a high moderate-to-vigorous activity/lower sedentary profile (C2; n = 354; 10.71%), and a lower physical activity profile (C3; n = 2308; 69.80%)
The sample included 3307 Polish adolescents aged 15-17 years (52.22% girls; mean age 15.89 ± 0.71 years)
A three-cluster solution was retained over a two-cluster solution despite the two-cluster solution having a higher average silhouette coefficient (0.36 vs. 0.28), because it provided 'a more differentiated and substantively interpretable representation of movement-behaviour patterns'
Weekly sedentary time and walking, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity physical activity were assessed using the IPAQ-LF and entered into k-means clustering
Results
Lower physical activity in adolescents did not necessarily coincide with higher sedentary time.
The lower physical activity profile (C3) had substantially lower walking, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity activity than the walking-dominant profile (C1)
Sedentary time was similar in magnitude between C1 (walking-dominant) and C3 (lower physical activity) profiles
This finding supports viewing physical activity and sedentary behaviour as 'related but non-equivalent dimensions of adolescent movement behaviour'
The high moderate-to-vigorous activity profile (C2) was characterised by both higher activity and lower sedentary time, distinguishing it from both other profiles
Results
Membership in the high moderate-to-vigorous activity/lower sedentary profile (C2) was associated with irregular eating patterns after adjustment for sex and school type.
Irregular eating patterns were associated with C2 membership: OR = 1.73 (95% CI: 1.05–2.84)
This association was statistically significant in adjusted binary logistic regression models controlling for sex and school type
The direction of association suggests that adolescents with irregular eating were more likely to belong to the high activity profile compared to other profiles
The authors note findings are exploratory and warrant confirmation in longitudinal studies
Results
Membership in the high moderate-to-vigorous activity/lower sedentary profile (C2) was associated with both short and long sleep durations on school days and weekends.
School-day sleep ≥ 9 h/day was associated with C2 membership: OR = 1.98 (95% CI: 1.11–3.54)
Weekend sleep < 7 h/day was associated with C2 membership: OR = 1.70 (95% CI: 1.02–2.82)
Weekend sleep ≥ 9 h/day was associated with C2 membership: OR = 1.59 (95% CI: 1.16–2.16)
All sleep associations were statistically significant in models adjusted for sex and school type
Both short and long weekend sleep durations were associated with the highest activity profile, suggesting a non-linear or heterogeneous relationship between sleep and activity
Results
No lifestyle candidate correlate reached statistical significance in adjusted analyses comparing the lower physical activity profile (C3) versus the walking-dominant profile (C1).
Separate binary logistic regression models examined crude and sex- and school-type-adjusted associations between candidate lifestyle correlates and profile membership
After adjustment for sex and school type, no lifestyle factor significantly distinguished C3 from C1
This contrasts with the C2 profile, for which multiple lifestyle correlates were statistically significant
The candidate correlates examined included eating regularity and sleep duration variables
What This Means
This research suggests that most Polish teenagers (nearly 70%) fall into a 'lower physical activity' category, while only about 11% engage in high levels of moderate-to-vigorous activity with less sitting time, and about 20% are primarily active through walking. Importantly, the study found that teenagers who are less physically active do not necessarily spend more time sitting — the amount of sedentary time was similar between the walking-dominant group and the lower activity group. This challenges the common assumption that physical activity and sitting time are simply opposite ends of the same spectrum.
The study also found that teenagers in the most active group (high moderate-to-vigorous activity with lower sedentary time) were more likely to have irregular eating habits and unusual sleep patterns — both very short and very long sleep on weekends, and long sleep on school days. These associations remained even after accounting for sex and school type. In contrast, no lifestyle factors studied clearly distinguished the lower activity group from the walking-dominant group.
This research suggests that physical activity and sedentary behaviour should be measured and addressed separately in adolescent health programmes, rather than treating them as interchangeable. The unexpected link between high activity and irregular eating and sleep patterns may reflect the demanding schedules of physically active teenagers, though the cross-sectional design of the study means cause and effect cannot be determined. The authors emphasize that these findings are exploratory and need to be confirmed with longer-term studies using more objective measurement tools.
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Wojciechowska M, Cieśla E, Żurawski A, Zmyślna A, Kozieł D. (2026). Physical Activity-Sedentary Behaviour Profiles and Associated Lifestyle Characteristics in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18172798