Correlates of physical activity in adolescence: a study from a developing country

Abstract

Background

Physical activity is important for adolescent health. The current study aimed to explore factors that predict physical activity among adolescents.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study of physical activity among a sample of adolescents in Tabriz, Iran. Information on physical activity was collected using a modified version of the Adolescent Physical Activity and Recall Questionnaire (APARQ). In addition, a self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic characteristics, perceived family support, and self-efficacy. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between physical activity and independent variables including gender and psychosocial predictors.

Results

In all, 402 students were studied. The mean age of adolescents was 12.93 (SD=0.49) years; 51.5% were female. The mean time of moderate and vigorous physical activity for all adolescents was 44.64 (SD=23.24) Metabolic Equivalent (MET) min per day. This figure for female adolescents was 38.77 (SD=19.94) MET min per day and for males it was 50.87 (SD=24.88) (P<0.001). The results obtained from multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that female gender (OR=2.59, 95% CI=1.46–4.57, P=0.001) and poor family support (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.03–1.20, P=0.038) were the most significant contributing factors to low level physical activity in adolescents. Other variables studied did not show any significant results.

Conclusion

The findings from the current study indicated that female adolescents were at risk of lower level of physical activity. In addition, it was found that the lack of family support represented an increased risk for low-level physical activity. It seems that family support should be an integrated part of any health education/promotion programs for improving physical activity among young adolescents in general and for female adolescents in particular.

• adolescent health
• physical activity
• family support
• Asia
• Iran

Acknowledgements

This manuscript was originated from a PhD thesis (240/7028) by Behjat Shorkvash, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. We would like to extend our appreciation to the adolescents and parents who made this study possible. Our special thank to Salar Ghaderi who helped us as a young elite student. Further, the authors would like to thank the four schools’ administrators, teachers and staff who graciously allowed us in to their school. We could not have accomplished our work without all of their assistance. We also are grateful for help received from Mrs. Eghbal Saleh Vedadi (University of Tabriz) and Dr. Mohammad Asghari (Tabirz University of Medical Sciences).

Conflict of interest and funding

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.