Background: Excess sedentary behaviour (SB) and insufficient physical activity have been identified as risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in adolescents, and some factors may affect how much time they spend on these activities. This study sought to compare the SB and PA patterns as well as compliance with PA recommendations by sex, geographical location, and time of the week in Mexican adolescents. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, we objectively assessed SB and PA in 106 adolescents (15 to 18 y) through waist-worn accelerometers for one week. The time spent in SB and in PA at different intensities was compared by sex, geographical location and time of the week with two-way and three-way repeated measures MANOVAs, while the compliance with physical activity recommendations (i.e., ≥60 min/day) was compared using chi-squared and McNemar tests. Results: Male participants spent more time in moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA than females both during the whole week and on weekdays (all p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in SB nor PA by geographical location (i.e., metropolitan vs. non-metropolitan areas). Moreover, all participants spent more time on moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA on weekdays than on weekends (p < 0.05). Compliance with international PA recommendations also showed a sex difference (males > females) and change between weekdays and weekends with no difference by geographical location. Conclusions: While geographical location does not seem to be a relevant factor, sex and time of the week appear to influence the SB and PA patterns in Mexican adolescents.

While parks hold potential as inclusive spaces for promoting physical activity, perceptions of safety from crime may affect their use, especially in low-to middle-income countries. Safety perceptions may be shaped by gender and park type; however, these relationships have not been explored in Mexico. The aim of this study was to explore associations between safety perceptions and park type by gender. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. We assessed perceptions of safety from crime in Mexican adult park users in Jalisco state. Six parks were classified into three categories: 1) Metropolitan parks with controlled gate access (Gated), 2) Metropolitan parks without controlled gate access (Open), and 3) Linear parks (Linear). We ran binary logistic regression models to investigate the association between safety perception and park type, and safety perception and gender. We found that men were more likely to feel safe than women, regardless of park type, and users of Linear parks were more likely to feel safe than users of Gated parks, regardless of gender. Safety perception is related to park type and park user gender. Future studies should explore which specific park attributes are influencing park user safety perception and how to address gender disparities. Keywords: Public spaces, Developing nation, Physical activity resources, LMIC.

Excess sedentary behaviour (SB) and insufficient physical activity (PA) have been identified as risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in adolescents, some factors may affect how much time they spent on these activities. This study sought to compare the SB and PA patterns as well as the compliance with PA recommendations by sex, geographical location, and time of the week in Mexican adolescents. In a cross-sectional design, we objectively assessed SB and PA in 106 adolescents (15 to 18 y) through waist-worn accelerometers for one week. The time spent in SB and in PA at different intensities was compared by sex, geographical location and time of the week with two-way and three-way repeated measures MANOVAs, while the compliance with physical activity recommendations (i.e. ≥60 min/day) was compared using chi-squared and McNemar tests. Male participants spent more time in moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA than females both in the whole week and in weekdays (all p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in SB nor PA by geographical location (i.e., metropolitan vs non-metropolitan areas). Moreover, all participants spent more time on moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA on weekdays than on weekends (p < 0.05). Compliance with international PA recommendations also showed a sex difference (males > females) and change between weekdays and weekends with no difference by geographical location. While geographical location does not seem to be a relevant factor, sex and time of the week appear to influence the SB and PA patterns in Mexican adolescents.