Female University Students' Physical Activity Levels and Associated Factors-A Cross-Sectional Study in Southwestern Saudi Arabia
(2013) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10(8). p.3502-3517- Abstract
- Background: The high prevalence of physical inactivity in Saudi Arabia is a growing challenge to public health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of physical activity (PA) and associated factors among female university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 663 randomly selected female university students who completed the Arab Teens Life Style questionnaire. Data included measurements of anthropometric, socioeconomic and environmental factors, as well as self-reported PA. Ordinal regression was used to identify associated factors with low, moderate and high PA levels. Results: The mean age of participants was 20.4 years (SD 1.5). Mean BMI of the students in relation to PA were 23.0, 22.9, 22.1 for high, moderate... (More)
- Background: The high prevalence of physical inactivity in Saudi Arabia is a growing challenge to public health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of physical activity (PA) and associated factors among female university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 663 randomly selected female university students who completed the Arab Teens Life Style questionnaire. Data included measurements of anthropometric, socioeconomic and environmental factors, as well as self-reported PA. Ordinal regression was used to identify associated factors with low, moderate and high PA levels. Results: The mean age of participants was 20.4 years (SD 1.5). Mean BMI of the students in relation to PA were 23.0, 22.9, 22.1 for high, moderate and low levels of activity, respectively. The analysis revealed significantly higher PA levels among married students, those with high educated mothers, and those who lived far from parks, and lower activity levels among underweight students. Conclusions: This study raises four important determinants for female university students' PA levels. These factors could be of great importance in the endeavor to prevent the health-threatening increase in physical inactivity patterns and thus non-communicable diseases and obesity where the focus should be on the specific situation and needs of women in Saudi Arabia. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4442966
- author
- Khalaf, Atika ; Ekblom, Orjan ; Kowalski, Jan ; Berggren, Vanja LU ; Westergren, Albert and Al-Hazzaa, Hazzaa
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- epidemiologic methods, Middle East, women's health, Saudi Arabia, physical activity, female university students, cross-sectional studies, socioeconomic factors
- in
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 8
- pages
- 3502 - 3517
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000330526700026
- scopus:84887528749
- pmid:23939387
- ISSN
- 1660-4601
- DOI
- 10.3390/ijerph10083502
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Nursing (Closed 2012) (013065000)
- id
- b154bdc0-bad4-458f-ad1a-7ff25a08e73d (old id 4442966)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:19:45
- date last changed
- 2022-04-27 21:01:33
@article{b154bdc0-bad4-458f-ad1a-7ff25a08e73d, abstract = {{Background: The high prevalence of physical inactivity in Saudi Arabia is a growing challenge to public health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of physical activity (PA) and associated factors among female university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 663 randomly selected female university students who completed the Arab Teens Life Style questionnaire. Data included measurements of anthropometric, socioeconomic and environmental factors, as well as self-reported PA. Ordinal regression was used to identify associated factors with low, moderate and high PA levels. Results: The mean age of participants was 20.4 years (SD 1.5). Mean BMI of the students in relation to PA were 23.0, 22.9, 22.1 for high, moderate and low levels of activity, respectively. The analysis revealed significantly higher PA levels among married students, those with high educated mothers, and those who lived far from parks, and lower activity levels among underweight students. Conclusions: This study raises four important determinants for female university students' PA levels. These factors could be of great importance in the endeavor to prevent the health-threatening increase in physical inactivity patterns and thus non-communicable diseases and obesity where the focus should be on the specific situation and needs of women in Saudi Arabia.}}, author = {{Khalaf, Atika and Ekblom, Orjan and Kowalski, Jan and Berggren, Vanja and Westergren, Albert and Al-Hazzaa, Hazzaa}}, issn = {{1660-4601}}, keywords = {{epidemiologic methods; Middle East; women's health; Saudi Arabia; physical activity; female university students; cross-sectional studies; socioeconomic factors}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{8}}, pages = {{3502--3517}}, publisher = {{MDPI AG}}, series = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}}, title = {{Female University Students' Physical Activity Levels and Associated Factors-A Cross-Sectional Study in Southwestern Saudi Arabia}}, url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/1751930/4882667}}, doi = {{10.3390/ijerph10083502}}, volume = {{10}}, year = {{2013}}, }