Al-Nuaim, A. and Safi, A. 2022. The Impact of Environment on Physical Activity Levels and Obesity among Saudi Arabia Youth: Comparison of Urban; Rural Farm and Rural Desert Geographical Locations. Physical Activity and Health. 6 (1), pp. 86-95. https://doi.org/10.5334/paah.188
| Title | The Impact of Environment on Physical Activity Levels and Obesity among Saudi Arabia Youth: Comparison of Urban; Rural Farm and Rural Desert Geographical Locations |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Al-Nuaim, A. and Safi, A. |
| Abstract | Background: The inactive lifestyle is becoming prevalent in many developed and developing countries including Saudi Arabia. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of neighborhoods’ characteristics on physical activity (PA) levels and body mass index (BMI) in Saudi adolescents. Methods: The anthropometric measurement of 380 secondary-school (boys = 199; girls = 181) from different geographical locations such as urban, rural farm and rural desert was taken using the Seca digital scales for weight and Seca portable measure for height. The BMI was calculated using the formula kg/m2 followed by participants wearing piezoelectric, New-Lifestyles NL-2000 PA Monitor, and completing the international physical activity short form questionnaire. Results: The findings indicated, an average boys recorded 9180 steps per day compared to girls 5580 and the univariate ANOVA revealed a significant difference between genders steps per day in three geographical areas (F1,334 = 70.01, p < 0.001). The BMI results demonstrated that participant from rural farm had lower BMI (mean = 21.01 kg/m2) compared to urban location (mean = 24.12 kg/m2) and rural desert youth (mean = 25.58 kg/m2) indicating significant differences in BMI status in geographical locations (F2,379 = 16.40, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The inactivity and obesity prevalence are prevalent amongst demographic groups in Al-Ahsa. Therefore, future policies and interventions could target this populations especially the rural desert youth in which the health risk could be higher. |
| Keywords | Physical activity |
| BMI | |
| Health | |
| Youth in Saudi | |
| pedometer | |
| IPAQ-SF | |
| built environment | |
| geographical areas | |
| urban | |
| rural farm | |
| rural desert | |
| Journal | Physical Activity and Health |
| Journal citation | 6 (1), pp. 86-95 |
| ISSN | 2515-2270 |
| Year | 2022 |
| Publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| Publisher's version | License CC BY 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.5334/paah.188 |
| Web address (URL) | https://paahjournal.com/articles/10.5334/paah.188/ |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 15 Jun 2022 |