Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Affective Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jad Research paper Lifestyle behaviors predict adolescents bullying victimization in low and middle-income countries Rosa M Alfonso-Rosa a, ⁎ , Antonio García-Hermoso b,e , Taren Sanders c , Phil Parker c , Xavier Oriol-Granado d , Hugh Arnott c , Borja del Pozo Cruz c a Departamento de Motricidad Humana y Rendimiento Deportivo, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla (Sevilla, España) b Navarrabiomed, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra (CHN), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA), IdiSNA, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain c Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, NSW, Australia d Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, University of Andres Bello (Santiago, Chile) e Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Actividd Física, el Deporte y la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, USACH, Santiago, Chile ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Victimization Sedentary behavior Active commuting Physical activity Adolescents Low and middle income countries ABSTRACT Background: In this study we aimed to provide a global perspective of the association between different lifestyle behaviors and bullying in school adolescents and to ascertain whether or not the Human Development Index moderated those associations. Methods: Data from the Global school-based Student Health Survey were analyzed in 273 121 from 82 countries. Logistic regression was applied to determine country-specific bullying victimization probability from meeting the recommended guidelines for physical activity, excessive sitting time, physical education attendance and active transport. Meta-analysis was then undertaken to ascertain pooled global effect estimates of the re- lationship between these behaviors and bullying victimization. Linear regression was used to study the re- lationship between odds of bullying from meeting the lifestyle guidelines and the Human Development Index. Results: Our estimates indicate that excessive sitting time [1.38 (1.34,1.41)], attendance to physical education [0.87 (0.85,0.89)], and active transport [0.94 (0.91,0.97)] but not overall physical activity [1.01 (0.99,1.04)] were associated with bullying in the study sample. Limitations: The present study is limited by its cross-sectional nature. Also, only two countries were surveyed from the European region Conclusions: Active commuting and attendance to physical education play a protective role for bullying, while physical activity does not. 1. Introduction Bullying has been recognized as an important and pervasive pro- blem among young populations internationally (Juvonen and Graham, 2014) . Bullying victimization is present in different settings, including the home, workplace, community settings, and schools (Kupferman-Meik et al., 2013) and is prevalent across countries worldwide (Modecki et al., 2014). Recent literature continues to con- firm that many bullying victims experience serious mental and physical health problems (Gini and Pozzoli, 2009; van Geel et al., 2014). Being seen as different or weak, being depressed, anxious, having low self- esteem or not socialize well with others are some of the known risk factors that contribute to bullying victimization. However, much less attention has been given to the relationship between health-promoting behaviors and bullying. Physical inactivity among youth is predictive of a wide range of health problems and detrimental well-being (Committee PAGA, 2018; Poitras et al., 2016). To date, only few studies have explicitly examined physical activity and sedentary behavior as a risk factor of bullying victimization, and findings from these studies have been mixed (Demissie et al., 2014; Hertz et al., 2015; Kelishadi et al., 2014; Merrill and Hanson, 2016; Peltzer and Pengpid, 2016; Roman and Taylor, 2013; Rostad et al., 2018; Rudatskira et al., 2014). Recently, data from the nationally representative 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 15 624 US adolescents suggestthat excessive media use emerged as significant correlates of bullying victimization https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.04.065 Received 6 February 2020; Received in revised form 28 April 2020; Accepted 29 April 2020 ⁎ Corresponding author: Dra. Rosa M Alfonso-Rosa. Departamento de Motricidad Humana y Rendimiento Deportivo, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Sevilla (Sevilla, España). C/Pirotecnia s/n 41013 Sevilla (Sevilla) Mobile: +34 625399566. E-mail address: roalrosa@us.es (R.M. Alfonso-Rosa). Journal of Affective Disorders 273 (2020) 364–374 Available online 19 May 2020 0165-0327/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T