Correlates of Insufficient Physical Activity among Junior High School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Xi’an, China

Abstract

Background: Physical activity plays an important role in individual health at all stages of life. However, evidence is lacking regarding the level of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the related factors to insufficient physical activity (IPA). Methods: A sample of 1060 students aged 12–15 years from nine public junior high schools in China were invited to participate in this study. Physical activity was assessed by a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with IPA. Results: 30.1% boys and 43.0% girls in our sample did not engage in sufficient physical activity. Obesity (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.5–2.9) and high socioeconomic status (SES) (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3–4.8) were positively associated with IPA, whereas male sex (OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5–0.9), underweight status (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.7), and high family support level for physical activity (OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.6–0.9) showed inverse associations. Age was not associated with IPA. Conclusions: IPA appears to be a considerable problem in this sample of Chinese youth. Effective interventions to increase physical activity are needed and may include improving family support level for physical activity, especially for girls, the obese and those with high SES.

The prevalence and correlates of physical activity/inactivity and sedentary behaviour among high-school adolescents in Iran: a cross-sectional study

“…Our findings show a gender difference with regard to PA levels, with girls having 48% higher odds of being physically inactive than boys. Such gender differences have also been reported earlier (Al Subhi et al 2015, Kelishadi et al 2007, Wang et al 2016, Al-Hazzaa et al 2011). This gender difference can be considered from different perspectives, such as social and environmental determinants of physical activity in terms of access to facilities, safe pavements and the possibility of engaging in physical activity in public places (Trang et al 2009, Li et al 2006.…”

The Prevalence and Correlates of Physical Activity/Inactivity and Sedentary Behaviour among High-School Adolescents in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our findings show a gender difference with regard to PA levels, with girls having 48% higher odds of being physically inactive than boys. Such gender differences have also been reported earlier [9,28,39,40]. This gender difference can be considered from different perspectives, such as social and environmental determinants of physical activity in terms of access to facilities, safe pavements and the possibility of engaging in physical activity in public places [14,41].…”

Factors of physical activity among Chinese children and adolescents: a systematic review

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