New research from low and middle-income nations reveals a link between inactivity and an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviour in teenagers.
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The study conducted by the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences said suicide-related issues had become a major public health challenge in developing countries, particularly in Africa and the Western Pacific.
The research, published in the medical journal Acta Paediatrica, included data from 206,357 adolescents in 52 low and middle-income countries.
It found that teenage boys with a combination of insufficient physical activity and prolonged sitting during their leisure time had double the chance of reported suicide attempts than those who were sufficiently active."
For adolescent girls, prolonged leisure time sitting increased the likelihood of reporting of suicidal attempts by 25 percent.
"Most of these countries lack the resources to identify or manage people at risk of suicide, including children and adolescents who receive little attention from the health care systems," says UQ researcher Associate Professor Assad Khan.
Dr Khan says the research points to a need for expanding suicide prevention strategies to "include the promotion of physical activity and the reduction of sedentariness to minimize suicide vulnerability among young people."
"Our vision is for a comprehensive mental health care system that integrates an active lifestyle into its programs and supports vulnerable young people in these resource-poor countries."
Newshub.
