Influence of individual and family factors on physical activity among Saudi girls: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity is a major public health problem and one of the main causes of noncommunicable diseases among children. The physical activity (PA) of children has been studied extensively in other countries, but not in Saudi Arabia, most especially among school-based girls. OBJECTIVES Assess the PA among older Saudi girls (10–15 years old) and determine the influence of various personal and family factors on PA. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING Primary and middle schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Using a multi-stage stratified sampling technique, school girls were surveyed using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). Personal and familial factors that influenced PA levels were assessed by multiple regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES PA levels of Saudi school girls. SAMPLE SIZE 464 girls. RESULTS The mean (SD) score of the respondents in the PAQ-C was 2.63 (0.57, range=1.27–4.24). The majority of the older children reported a moderate level of PA in the last seven days (73.5%), whereas 22.4% and 4.1% of them reported low and high levels of PA, respectively. Employment status of the parents and monthly family income were significant factors that influenced the PA of children. CONCLUSIONS The findings reiterate the significance of improving the PA of school girls and the critical role of the family in improving children’s PA. Multisectoral coordination between schools, health agencies, families, and other concerned agencies to plan and implement interventions should help increase the PA of school girls. LIMITATIONS The use of self-report may have introduced some levels of social desirability bias. The study was only conducted in a single city.

Relationship between Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Anthropometric Measurements among Saudi Female Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In contrast to our findings, Alharbi conducted a study in Riyadh among adolescents aged 10-15 years using the PAQ-C and found that 73.5% of the participants reported moderate levels of physical activity, 22.4% low levels of physical activity and 4.1% high levels of physical activity [52]. Similarly, a study of 275 non-Saudi girls aged 9-16 years who lived in Saudi Arabia used the PAQ-C and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (GSLTPAQ) and found that 65.8% were physically active and 34.2% were insouciantly physically active based on the latter questionnaire, while 50% were moderately active and 22.2% were extremely active based on the PAQ-C.…”

“…Consistent with our findings, Al-Hazzaa et al [58] conducted a study among 2908 Saudi adolescents aged 14-19 years in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia and found that >91.2% of females and 84% of males used the computer and watched TV >2 h/day. Alharbi's study on children aged 10-15 years used daily hours spent on electronic devices and TV (≤2 or >2 h) and found that the children who spent ≤2 h/day using these devices were significantly more active than those who spent ≥2 h/day watching TV and using electronic devices [52]. The results of our study correspond with those of Hashem et al [59] who showed that the mean sedentary time was 568.2 ± 111.6 min/day among 435 Kuwaiti female adolescents on weekdays and weekend days.…”

Physical Activity and Adolescent Health: What Should We Know?

“…In addition, school physical education can promote behaviors and skills related to emotional intelligence, such as empathy, self-concept, and altruism that trigger positive attitudes toward PA [39,40,41,42]. Therefore, it is very important to identify individual, cultural and social factors that may interfere with the PA, avoiding barriers that compromise this practice, such as unsafe environments, difficulties in accessing spaces for this practice and high costs related to public and private equipment [13,43,44,45,46].…”

Physical Activity and Psychophysical Well-Being of Children With Disabilities and Their Families – A Systematic Review

“…The problem of scientific measurement of the relationships between the types and specifics of everyday physical activity undertaken by and psychophysical wellbeing of children with motor disabilities at different stages of life is poorly documented in the literature. A review of the most recent research studies regarding this topic (from the years 2010-2020) indicates the relationship between physical activity and psychophysical wellbeing in children with motor disabilities and without intellectual deficits has received significantly less scrutiny than in their physically healthy counterparts (Williams et al, 2017;Bidzan-Bluma & Lipowska, 2018;Blanco et al, 2019;Fraysse et al, 2019;Lebron et al, 2018;Alharbi, 2019;Niemistö et al, 2020). The current literature regarding healthy children without intellectual disabilities of different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds-e.g.…”

“…white (Williams et al, 2017), Spanish (Blanco et al, 2019), Australian (Fraysse et al, 2019), Latino (Lebron et al, 2018), Saudi Arabian (Alharbi, 2019), American (Haidar et al, 2019), Scandinavian (Niemistö et al, 2020)-shows a relationship between physical activity at different periods of life and the development of different problems associated with body mass (Niemistö et al, 2020), including being overweight and/or obese, parents' BMI (Williams et al, 2017), specifics of parental attitudes and behaviors with regards to nutrition (Williams et al, 2017;Lebron et al, 2018;Alharbi, 2019), as well as a relationship between physical activity and the development of cognitive functions in children and adolescents (Bidzan-Bluma & Lipowska, 2018). In the studies of Williams et al, 2017, Lebron et al, 2018and Alharbi et al, 2019 between the physical activity of children and adolescents and other variables were measured using various indices collected using questionnaires, scales, and surveys completed by parents (questions targeted at both parents concerned BMI, diet, and time spent doing physical activity and being sedentary throughout the day). Fraysse et al, 2019, used the moderate to vigorous physical activity index (MVPA) to measure the relationship between the physical activity of children and their parents in a healthy population of 1261 Australian children (50% boys and 50% girls) and 1358 parents (88% mothers).…”