Assessment of Physical Activity among Adolescents: A Cross sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Inadequate Physical Activity (PA) is a common feature running through most public health problems across the world. PA declines during the lifespan, especially during adolescence. We studied the current status of PA of children in Anand, Gujarat India. Aim: To study the current status of PA of children in Anand, Gujarat, India in the age group of 10-19 years. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-reported modified Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ-A) which has consistently high validity and moderate reliability. It comprehensively captures the PA in last seven days. Self-reported anthropometric data and socio-demographic data were also recorded. Anthropometric data was not reported in 709 out of 3337 participants. Descriptive statistics {mean (SD), Frequency (%)} were used to depict the characteristics of the study population and PA levels. Using age and sex-specific WHO growth charts for BMI, we determined the prevalence of overweight (z≥+2 SD), obesity (z≥+3 SD) and undernutrition (z≤-2 SD) in our study population. Results: Mean PA level (n=3337) amongst adolescents was 2.62 (SD=0.72). It was significantly higher in males as compared to females {2.66 (0.73 SD) vs 2.56 (0.71 SD), p<0.001}. 2312(69.3%) students fell in low PA group (PA score <3). Correlating their PA with age, in females (n=1410) correlation was -0.204 and in males (n=1927) it was -0.095. PA declines with age but in males it was not statistically significant. Correlating PA with BMI (n=2553), the overall correlation was -0.116 showing insignificant. Correlation of BMI with PA was -0.314 for an affluent school (n=328). Most common physical activity was bicycling {729 (51.7%) in females and 1077 (55.9%) in males)}. Overall (n=2628), 143 (5.4%) were obese {103 (6.7%) males and 40 (3.7%) females} and 556 (21.2%) were overweight {369 (24.0%) males and 187 (17.1%) females}. Overweight and obesity levels were higher among males. Conclusion: Physical activity was found to be inadequate among adolescents. Solutions to improve physical activity in children need to be incorporated for Indian schools.