The Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviours Relative to Obesity among Adolescents from Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia: Rural versus Urban Variations

Purpose. The aims of this study were to explore the lifestyle of young people living in Al-Ahsa Governorate; to investigate differences due to gender, age, school type, and geographical location. Methods. 1270 volunteered youth (15–19 years) completed a self-report questionnaire that contained 47 items relating to patterns of physical activity (PA), sedentary activity, and eating habits. The questionnaire allows the calculation of total energy expenditure in metabolic equivalent (MET-min) values per week. Results. Significant differences in the PA levels of youth were evident with regard to gender, geographical areas, and type of school. Also, normal weight males reported the highest levels of PA compared to overweight and obese. Conclusions. Youth living in rural desert were less physically active than those living in urban or rural farm environments. Youth of “normal” weight were more active than obese. Males were more active than females and PA levels appeared to decline with age

RISK FACTORS, LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH HABITS OF YOUNG ADULTS IN QATAR

Background & Objectives The state of Qatar has witnessed significant lifestyle changes due to rapid urbanization, the introduction of labour-saving devices and the availability of high-caloric density food. This has impacted on the daily lifestyle and health habits of young adults leading to significant increases in non-communicable diseases (WHO, 2014). This study explored the risk factors associated with such diseases amongst young adults in Qatar. Methods A representative sample of 732 males and females (aged 18-25 years) from Qatar University took part in this cross-sectional, mixed-method design study. Physical Activity (PA) and dietary habits were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Total energy expenditure per week was calculated based on the metabolic equivalent values of each activity reported by the participant (Al-Nakeeb et al., 2012). Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria and using the age and gender-specific BMI classification established by Cole et al. (2000). Results The percentage of overweight/obesity in males and females was 39.5% and 38.5% respectively. It was evident that there was a significant increase in the percentage of students classified as overweight/obese from year 1 to year 4. Meanwhile, there was a decline in the level of PA and an increase in sedentary time during that period. Whilst health was reported to be the main reason for participation in PA/sport, lack of available time was singled out as the main barrier to engagement in an active lifestyle. Ironically, students reported more than 4 hours of TV/DVD viewing and internet use per day. Conclusions The adoption of healthier lifestyles amongst the Qatari population, including an increase in PA and a reduction in overweight/obesity are major objectives cited in Qatar Vision (2030). This study has revealed a high prevalence of overweight/obesity amongst male and female university students with regressive trends in their lifestyle and health habits. The findings reveal a worrying picture of young people's lifestyle that ought to be a cause for concern for policy makers and health professionals. Undoubtedly, there is an urgent need to seriously consider putting in place intervention strategies concerning behaviour modification and the built environment in order to reverse these trends. Such strategies could have major implications on the health and well-being of young people at this critical age developmentally and on the future welfare of the wider community in the long run.qscienc

Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Amongst British and Saudi Youth: A Cross-Cultural Study

This study explores differences in weight status, obesity and patterns of physical activity (PA) in relation to gender and age of youth from two culturally, environmentally and geographically diverse countries, the United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). A total of 2,290 males and females (15–17 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Participants completed a validated self-report questionnaire that contained 47 items relating to patterns of PA, sedentary activity and eating habits. The questionnaire allows the calculation of total energy expenditure in metabolic equivalent (MET-min) values per week. Significant differences in percentage of overweight/obese and levels of PA were evident between the youth from the two countries, with males being generally more physically active than females. Additionally, there were significant associations between Body Mass Index (BMI), PA and sedentary behaviors; the youth with higher BMI reported lower levels of PA and higher amounts of sedentary time. These findings highlight the diverse nature of lifestyle of youth living in different geographical areas of the world and the need for further research to explore the socio-cultural factors that impact on the prevalence of obesity and patterns of PA of youth in different populations

Body esteem in British children: differences due to weight status, ethnicity and gender

Body esteem is an important variable that has been linked to a range of negative health outcomes including depression, negative affect, obesity and increased risk of suffering from eating disorders. However, little information is available regarding the ethnic differences in body esteem in Britsih children. Objective: To examine gender, ethnic and weight status differences in body esteem in a sample of British children. Methods: The study was cross sectional in design and assesses body esteem and weight status in 756 children (394 boys, 362 girls, mean age 11.4 ± 1.6 years) Body esteem was determined using the body esteem scale for children. Height and body mass were measured directly. Body mass index was determined as kg/m². Overweight/obesity status was determined using child-specific, International Obesity task force cut-off points. Results: A 2 (gender) X 3 (ethnicity) X 2(weight status)ways analysis of variance (ANCOVA) controlling for age indicated that body esteem was higher for normal weight boys compared to girls whereas body esteem scores were similar for boys and girls in the overweight/obese category (P = 0.044). Body esteem scores were higher in boys compared to girls from white and black ethnic groups but this pattern was reversed for Asian boys and girls (P = 0.039). Conclusions: Findings of this study indicate that body esteem interacts with weight status and ethnicity across gender groups in British children after controlling for age. In the context of the current study overweight children and Asian boys may be particular populations where future research needs to focus

The impact of moderate and high intensity total body fatigue on passing accuracy in expert and novice basketball players

Despite the acknowledged importance of fatigue on performance in sport, ecologically sound studies investigating fatigue and its effects on sport-specific skills are surprisingly rare. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of moderate and high intensity total body fatigue on passing accuracy in expert and novice basketball players. Ten novice basketball players (age: 23.30 ± 1.05 yrs) and ten expert basketball players (age: 22.50 ± 0.41 yrs) volunteered to participate in the study. Both groups performed the modified AAHPERD Basketball Passing Test under three different testing conditions: rest, moderate intensity and high intensity total body fatigue. Fatigue intensity was established using a percentage of the maximal number of squat thrusts performed by the participant in one minute. ANOVA with repeated measures revealed a significant (F 2,36 = 5.252, p = 0.01) level of fatigue by level of skill interaction. On examination of the mean scores it is clear that following high intensity total body fatigue there is a significant detriment in the passing performance of both novice and expert basketball players when compared to their resting scores. Fundamentally however, the detrimental impact of fatigue on passing performance is not as steep in the expert players compared to the novice players. The results suggest that expert or skilled players are better able to cope with both moderate and high intensity fatigue conditions and maintain a higher level of performance when compared to novice players. The findings of this research therefore, suggest the need for trainers and conditioning coaches in basketball to include moderate, but particularly high intensity exercise into their skills sessions. This specific training may enable players at all levels of the game to better cope with the demands of the game on court and maintain a higher standard of play

An Investigation into the Lifestyle, Health Habits and Risk Factors of Young Adults

This project examined the lifestyle, health habits and risk factors of young adults at Qatar University. It explored the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst male and female students, both Qatari and non-Qatari. Seven hundred thirty two students aged 18–25 years completed a self-reported questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Males and females had a high prevalence of being overweight and obesity and low levels of PA, according to well-established international standards. Three clusters were identified based on the students’ lifestyle and dietary habits. Cluster 1 (high risk factors) included those who engaged the least in healthy dietary practices and consumed the most unhealthy foods, participated in less PA and had the highest BMI. Cluster 2 (moderate risk factors) included those with considerably more habits falling into the moderate category, engagement in the most PA, the least TV and computer viewing time and had the lowest BMI. Cluster 3 (low risk factors) included those who engaged the most with the four healthy dietary practices, the least with the four unhealthy dietary practices and participated in moderate PA per week. This project provides valuable data that could be used by policy makers to address issues concerning student’s health

Evidence of nationalistic bias in MuayThai

MuayThai is a combat sport with a growing international profile but limited research conducted into judging practices and processes. Problems with judging of other subjectively judged combat sports have caused controversy at major international tournaments that have resulted in changes to scoring methods. Nationalistic bias has been central to these problems and has been identified across a range of sports. The aim of this study was to examine nationalistic bias in MuayThai. Data were collected from the International Federation of MuayThai Amateur (IFMA) World Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan September 2003 and comprised of tournament results from 70 A-class MuayThai bouts each judged by between five and nine judges. Bouts examined featured 62 competitors from 21 countries and 25 judges from 11 countries. Results suggested that nationalistic bias was evident. The bias observed equated to approximately one round difference between opposing judges over the course of a bout (a mean of 1.09 (SE=0.50) points difference between judges with opposing affilations). The number of neutral judges used meant that this level of bias generally did not influence the outcome of bouts. Future research should explore other ingroup biases, such as nearest neighbour bias and political bias as well as investigating the feasibility adopting an electronic scoring system