Physical activity and academic achievement among the medical students: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aims: To explore physical activity (PA) habits among the medical students and examine the correlation with their grade point average (GPA) achievement at College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the medical students (n = 409), during the academic year 2012–2013. Students’ physical activity habits were self-reported. GPA, body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent (BF%) were collected and analyzed with SPSS software.

Results: Out of 409 students, 193 (47.2%) students reported being physically active. Our result showed a significant positive association between students’ PA habits and high-GPA achievement (χ²= 10.65, p = 0.001). The greatest odds ratio of high GPA was found among the fourth year students (OR = 3.08, CI: 1.15–8.28, p = 0.025) and fifth year students (OR = 5.07, CI: 1.48–17.31, p = 0.010). In addition, significant association was found between the normal BMI and high-GPA achievers (χ²= 8.30; p = 0.016). However, no statistically, significant association was found between BF% and GPA.

Conclusions: The present study showed a positive associations was found between PA habits and high academic achievement. In addition, positive association was found between PA, obese students and GPA achievement. Therefore, there is a need for the establishment of physical activity education and public health programs to promote importance of PA in Saudi population.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all students who participated in this study. We also thank to Dr. Hadeel Saleem Almadany and Dr. Roqaih Ibrahim Aldueb for helping in data collection. Also, we would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Filly for reviewing the manuscript for the final editing.

Declaration of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest. This work was funded by the College of Medicine, Research Center, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The publication of this supplement has been made possible with the generous financial support of the Dr Hamza Alkholi Chair for Developing Medical Education in KSA.