Sedentary lifestyle is a major underlying cause of death, disease, and disability worldwide. This survey in 2006 aimed to estimate the current level of physical activity among 293 school and university teaching staff and 246 support staff working in the education sector in Dohuk city, Iraq. The short form of the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to estimate physical activity. Using the higher IPAQ cutoff point (i.e. high, not moderate, level of activity) the prevalence of physical activity beneficial to health among all participants was 39.5%. Small but nonsignificant differences in physical activity were found among sex, age and BMI categories. Teachers reported significantly higher physical activity levels than support staff, and individuals with longer average sitting times per day reported significantly lower levels of physical activity. . La version courte du questionnaire international sur l'activité physique a été utilisée pour mesurer cet élément. En utilisant la valeur seuil la plus élevée du questionnaire, (c'est-à-dire une activité physique intense et non modérée), la prévalence d'une activité physique bénéfique pour la santé a été estimée à 39,5 % pour tous les participants. Des différences minimes non significatives ont été retrouvées en fonction du sexe, de l'âge et de l'indice de masse corporelle. Les enseignants ont déclaré des niveaux d'activité physiques supérieurs à ceux du personnel administratif et les individus passant en moyenne le plus de temps en position assise par jour ont déclaré avoir des niveaux d'activité physique nettement plus faibles.

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Background: Addiction on the internet has become a major concern nowadays with the increase in the need for it for various daily life tasks. The potential of being addicted to one or more behaviors remains a subject of debate. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of internet addiction and its relation to cigarette smoking. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of medical colleges in Duhok governorate (Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Zakho College of Medicine); a total of 421 participants responded to a questionnaire that assessed the degree of internet addiction and cigarette smoking dependence, along with sociodemographic data. Internet Addiction Test and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence were used to assess internet addiction and cigarette smoking dependence. Results: The prevalence of internet addiction was 82.7%. There were 41 (9.7%) cigarette smokers, all males, of whom 37 (90.2%) were internet addicts. Prevalence of smoking was observed to increase with the severity of internet addiction, though the relationship was statistically not significant (P= 0.304). Compared to males, female students were more likely to have no or single addiction, while males were prone to double addiction. Conclusions: The prevalence of internet addiction was high, compared to the low prevalence of cigarette smoking. Prevalence of smoking increased with the severity of internet addiction, but this did not reach statistical significance.