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Abstract
Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between health-related physical activity and perception of neighbourhood safety and hygiene among adults living in low socio-economic status (SES) areas of Nigeria. Methodology: A representative sample of 613 adults (20–65 years; 32% female) from low-SES neighbourhoods in Maiduguri were surveyed using the Nigerian adaptation of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) and Physical Activity Neighbourhood Environmental scale (PANE). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between sufficient health-related moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and neighbourhood safety and hygiene variables. Results: Less than half (45.7%) of Nigerian adults living in low-SES areas met the guideline for sufficient health-related MVPA. Engaging in sufficient MVPA was positively associated with perception of the neighbourhood being free from dirt such as garbage and odour (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.01–2.45) but negatively associated with perceptions of high crime rate during the day (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.90) and with high speed of traffic and aggressive driving that make walking dangerous in the neighbourhood (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.42–0.93). Conclusions: A successful campaign to promote health-related physical activity in the low-SES areas of Nigeria may require interventions on street cleaning and refuse disposal, crime rate, traffic control and driving speed.
Ethical approval
University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital Institutional Review Committee on Human Research.
Funding
None.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank all the participants who completed this study.
Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interested associated with this paper.