Dear Colleagues,

Research examining the physical, social, and cognitive health effects of physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep, diet, and substance consumption on different health indicators has largely been conducted independently or in isolation of the other behaviors. Recent research suggests that the combination of behaviors may impact health in a way that cannot be explained by the effect of individual behaviors studied in isolation. It is thus important to examine clusters of behaviors and their interactions for various health outcomes if we want to better tailor the development of effective intervention strategies aimed at improving the health of the population. 

A recent integrative approach suggests that components of the movement continuum (i.e., physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep duration) are codependent behaviors across the whole day (24-hour period). All three movement behaviors matter for optimal health. Consequently, 24-Hour Movement Guidelines have been published for the early years (0–4 years), children and youth (5–17 years), adults (18–64 years), and older adults (65+ years) in the last 5 years. Although the number of studies is still growing, more worldwide research is needed to determine the adherence to, correlates of, and associations of these 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Moreover, examining not only the adherence to, correlates of, and associations of these 24-Hour Movement Guidelines but also other health-related behaviors (e.g., healthy diets) and health-risk behaviors (e.g., substance consumption) are required to provide a more fine-grained picture of the importance of healthy lifestyles. Although multiple health behavior change interventions (MHBC; i.e., addressing two or more health behaviors) have also been suggested as a promising approach to obtain additional health benefits, further interventional studies are needed to strengthen the evidence. 

While studies related to health-related behaviors (e.g., physical activity, healthy diet, and sleep) and health-risk behaviors (e.g., unhealthy diet, sedentary behaviors, and substance consumption) are welcome, special consideration will be given to the following research avenues that need further attention in this field: (1) adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and other health-related recommendations across the lifespan; (2) the association between these 24-hour movement behaviors and other health-related and health-risk behaviors, and different health indicators; (3) individual, social, environmental, and policy correlates of these 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and other health-related recommendations; (4) longitudinal designs to examine the cause–effect relationships between these 24-hour movement behaviors, and other health-related and health-risk behaviors, and different health indicators; (5) MHBC intervention studies aimed at improving 24-hour movement behaviors, and other health-related and health-risk behaviors, as well as health outcomes; (6) examining the optimal composition of movement behaviors within a 24 h period for improved health; (7) associations between health-related behavior profiles and different health indicators; (8) associations between different health-related and health-risk behaviors; (9) promising strategies for changing 24-hour movement behaviors and other health-related and health-risk behaviors; (10) advances in multiple health behavior change measurement. Studies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are welcome. 

Dr. Angel Abos
Dr. Javier Sevil-Serrano
Dr. Luis Garcia-Gonzalez
Guest Editors

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• Physical activity
• Sleep
• Diet
• Sedentary time
• Screen time
• Substance consumption
• 24-hour movement guidelines
• Movement behaviors
• Energy-related behaviors
• Health-risk behaviors
• Health-related behaviors
• Gender
• School-based intervention
• Healthy lifestyles