Results From the United Arab Emirates’ 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Paulo, Marília Silva; Nauman, Javaid; Abdulle, Abdishakur; AlJunaibi, Abdulla; Alzaabi, Mouza; Barakat-Haddad, Caroline; Sheek-Hussein, Mohamud; Shah, Syed M.; Yousufzai, Susan; Loney, Tom

doi:10.1123/jpah.2018-0543

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Our finding was comparable with the study reported from Chile, Colombia, Ghana, and Lebanon [26,29,44,60]. Our study was higher than results reported from South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the USA, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guernsey, India, Nepal, Scotland, Venezuela, and Wales [27,28,30,32,38,54,56,59,[62][63][64]. The possible reason might be as a result of environmental factors and limited school-based physical activity programs in Ethiopia.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Assessment of Physical Activity Indicators for Children and Youth in Ethiopia: Evidence from the Global Matrix 3.0 Study (2017–2018)

Abdeta¹,

Teklemariam

Deksisa

et al. 2019

Sports Med - Open

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Background: Regular physical activity is vital for children's health, well-being, and development. However, evidence is scant about physical activity indicators for children and youth in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess physical activity indicators among children and youth in Ethiopia.Methods: This study was conducted as part of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance's "Global Matrix 3.0" which included 49 countries. Data were collected from December 2017 to April 2018. The country research team included different disciplines related to physical activity. Data were retrieved from pre-reviewed literature, government policy documents, and an expert interview panel. Data were analyzed using the ten physical activity indicators for children and youth. The grading system was done through a harmonized process and the standard grading rubric of the Global Matrix 3.0 study ((A = ≥ 80%, B = 60%-79%, C = 40%-59%, D = 20%-39%, F = < 20%, INC = incomplete data).Results: For the overall physical activity indicator, 28% of children and youth in Ethiopia met the recommended physical activity of 60 min per day which resulted in a "D" grade. Likewise, the school and government indicator received a "D" grade. Almost 32% of schools in Ethiopia had access to infrastructures and multipurpose spaces for physical activity including outdoor play. The government policy partially existed in the non-communicable diseases agenda but had less focus on children and youth. The active play indicator scored the highest grade of "B." About 71% of children and youth were involved in active play for at least 2 h a day before, during, and after school. About 50% of children and youth were engaging in organized sport participation, and this indicator was graded a "C." Similarly, 48% of children and youth walked to and from school as a means of active transportation resulting in a "C" for this indicator. Three indicators (sedentary behavior, family and peers, and community and environment) were graded as an "F." Approximately 8% of children and youth were living in communities and environments that did not support opportunities for physical activity. Only 13% of children and youth spent less than 2 h per day in sedentary screen time. There was no adequate information to grade the physical fitness indicator.Conclusion: This study showed that Ethiopian's children and youth have received low grades for majority of physical activity indicators. Therefore, urgent actions should be taken by the government, policymakers, researchers, and key stakeholders to address the suggested priority areas.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Assessment of Physical Activity Indicators for Children and Youth in Ethiopia: Evidence from the Global Matrix 3.0 Study (2017–2018)

Abdeta¹,

Teklemariam

Deksisa

et al. 2019

Sports Med - Open

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“…Including countries with a significantly large number of "INC" grades in the Global Matrix 3.0 is a limitation to this study as it limits the comparisons. For example, the United Arab Emirates had 6 "INC" grades, 110 Guernsey had 5 "INC" grades, 111 and Qatar had 4 "INC" grades, and a "not applicable" for Active Transportation. 56 Another major limitation of this study is the diversity of the data that was used to inform the 10 core indicators, challenging the comparativeness of the grades within the same indicator.…”

Section: Integrated Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Report Card Grades on the Physical Activity of Children and Youth Comparing 30 Very High Human Development Index Countries

Aubert

Barnes

Aguilar-Farías

et al. 2018

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

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Background: To better understand the childhood physical inactivity crisis, Report Cards on physical activity of children and youth were prepared concurrently in 30 very high Human Development Index countries. The aim of this article was to present, describe, and compare the findings from these Report Cards. Methods: The Report Cards were developed using a harmonized process for data gathering, assessing, and assigning grades to 10 common physical activity indicators. Descriptive statistics were calculated after converting letter grades to interval variables, and correlational analyses between the 10 common indicators were performed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Results: A matrix of 300 grades was obtained with substantial variations within and between countries. Low grades were observed for behavioral indicators, and higher grades were observed for sources of influence indicators, indicating a disconnect between supports and desired behaviors. Conclusion: This analysis summarizes the level and context of the physical activity of children and youth among very high Human Development Index countries, and provides additional evidence that the situation regarding physical activity in children and youth is very concerning. Unless a major shift to a more active lifestyle happens soon, a high rate of noncommunicable diseases can be anticipated when this generation of children reaches adulthood.

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“…92 In the United Arab Emirates, only 26% of adolescents aged 13-17 years reported participating in physical education class on 3 or more days each week. 93 In South Africa, 32% of children do not participate in school physical education classes, and no evidence of progress in the prioritization of physical education in the schools was found by the Report Card work group. 94 Similarly, 2 consecutive Report Cards from South Korea highlighted that the emphasis on important subjects (eg, math, science) for university admission overrides the importance of physical activity in the Korean education system.…”

Section: Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries

Aubert¹,

Barnes²,

Abdeta

et al. 2018

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Self Cite

582

600

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Background: Accumulating sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity is recognized as a key determinant of physical, physiological, developmental, mental, cognitive, and social health among children and youth (aged 5–17 y). The Global Matrix 3.0 of Report Card grades on physical activity was developed to achieve a better understanding of the global variation in child and youth physical activity and associated supports. Methods: Work groups from 49 countries followed harmonized procedures to develop their Report Cards by grading 10 common indicators using the best available data. The participating countries were divided into 3 categories using the United Nations’ human development index (HDI) classification (low or medium, high, and very high HDI). Results: A total of 490 grades, including 369 letter grades and 121 incomplete grades, were assigned by the 49 work groups. Overall, an average grade of “C-,” “D+,” and “C-” was obtained for the low and medium HDI countries, high HDI countries, and very high HDI countries, respectively. Conclusions: The present study provides rich new evidence showing that the situation regarding the physical activity of children and youth is a concern worldwide. Strategic public investments to implement effective interventions to increase physical activity opportunities are needed.

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Results From the United Arab Emirates’ 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Cited by 23 publications

References 7 publications

Assessment of Physical Activity Indicators for Children and Youth in Ethiopia: Evidence from the Global Matrix 3.0 Study (2017–2018)

Assessment of Physical Activity Indicators for Children and Youth in Ethiopia: Evidence from the Global Matrix 3.0 Study (2017–2018)

Report Card Grades on the Physical Activity of Children and Youth Comparing 30 Very High Human Development Index Countries

Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries

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