Insufficient and poor sleep patterns are common among adolescents worldwide. Up to now, the evidence on adolescent sleep has been mostly informed by country-specific studies that used different measures and age groups, making direct comparisons difficult. Cross-national data on adolescent sleep that could inform nations and international discussions are lacking. We examined the sleep patterns of adolescents across 24 countries and by gender, age, and affluence groups. We obtained sleep data on 165,793 adolescents (mean age 13.5 years; 50.5% girls) in 24 European and North American countries from the recent cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children surveys (2013-2014 and 2017-2018). For each country, we calculated the age-standardized mean in sleep duration, timing, and consistency and the proportions meeting sleep recommendations on school and nonschool days from self-reported bedtimes and wake times. We conducted stratified analyses by gender, age, and family affluence group. Adolescent sleep patterns varied cross-nationally. The average sleep duration ranged between 7:47 and 9:07 hours on school days and between 9:31 and 10:22 hours on nonschool days, and the proportion of adolescents meeting sleep recommendations ranged between 32% and 86% on school days and between 79% and 92% on nonschool days. Sleep patterns by gender and affluence groups were largely similar, but older adolescents slept less and went to bed later on school days than younger adolescents in all countries. The sleep patterns of adolescents vary across countries and sociodemographic groups. Insufficient sleep on school days is common in many countries. Public health and policy efforts to promote healthy adolescent sleep are encouraged.

Background: Sufficient levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) give substantial health benefits to adolescents. This article examines trends in physical activity (PA) from 2002 to 2010 across 32 countries from Europe and North America. Methods: Representative samples included 479 674 pupils (49% boys) aged 11 years (n = 156 383), 13 years (n = 163 729) and 15 years (n = 159 562). The trends in meeting the recommendations for PA (at least 60 min daily) were evaluated using logistic regression. Results: There was a slight overall increase between 2002 and 2010 (17.0% and 18.6%, respectively). MVPA increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) among boys in 16 countries. Conversely, nine countries showed a significant decrease. Among girls, 10 countries showed a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05). Eight countries showed a significant decrease. For all countries combined, girls were slightly less likely to show an increase in PA over time. Conclusions: The majority of adolescents do not meet current recommendations of PA. Further investment at national and international levels is therefore necessary to increase PA participation among children and adolescents and reduce the future health burden associated with inactivity.

(1) Background: There is a need for studies on population-level health literacy (HL) to identify the current state of HL within and between countries. We report comparative findings from 10 European countries (Austria, Belgium (Fl), Czechia, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Macedonia, Poland, and Slovakia) on adolescents’ HL and its associations with gender, family affluence (FAS), and self-rated health (SRH). (2) Methods: Representative data (N = 14,590; age 15) were drawn from the HBSC (Health Behavior in School-Aged Children) study. The associations between HL, gender, FAS, and SRH were examined via path models. (3) Results: The countries exhibited differences in HL means and in the range of scores within countries. Positive associations were found between FAS and HL, and between HL and SRH in each country. Gender was associated with differences in HL in only three countries. HL acted as a mediator between gender and SRH in four countries, and between FAS and SRH in each country. (4) Conclusions: The findings confirm that there are differences in HL levels within and between European countries, and that HL does contribute to differences in SRH. HL should be taken into account when devising evidence-informed policies and interventions to promote the health of adolescents.

The levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour are significant indicators of health behaviour and their monitoring is crucial in developing public policy in the area of health promotion and non-communicable disease prevention. The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of PA and sedentary behaviour as well as age and gender differences in Czech adults (18–90 years old, N = 1753; 48.4% male) participating in the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) cross-sectional study 2011. To assess the significant differences between self-reported PA and sedentary behaviour the MANOVA, a post hoc Fischer's least significant difference (LSD) test and logistic regression were used. The level of PA was classified according to the amount of MET-minutes per week as high, moderate or low. Irrespective of age and gender, 32.3% of adults reported a low level of PA; 21.3% of adults fell within the category of moderate level of PA and 46.4% of adults reported a high level of PA. The level of PA decreases with age; men are generally more physically active than women. More than 60% of adults across all age categories are assessed as ‘sedentary’. The highest rate of sedentary behaviour was observed in adults over 65 years of age. The development of national strategies for PA promotion together with the development and verification of specific intervention programmes, especially for women, should be a priority in the Czech Republic.