Body image, weight discrepancy and body mass index among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

This study examined the relationship between body image, weight discrepancy and body mass index among female university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 183 university students aged 18.7±1.17 years volunteered to participate in the study. Anthropometric variables were measured according to the protocol of International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Body image perception was assessed using silhouette matching techniques. Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between body image and weight perceptions in relation to actual physical measurements by means of two indices: Feel minus Ideal Discrepancy (FID) and FAI (Feel weight status minus actual weight status inconsistency). One-way ANOVA was computed to test for any substantial differences in the participants’ dependent measures according to body mass index (BMI) categories. Percentage distribution of participants’ actual weight categories were 71% (underweight), 18.6% (normal weight) and 10.4% (overweight). Using the body silhouette chart, the mean value for the participants’ feel and ideal figures were 3.6 and 2.2, while their FID and FAI scores were 1.4 and 0.55, respectively. Results of the regression analysis indicated that every unit increase in Feel figure yielded a highly significant increase in BMI by 1.4 kg/m2 . By contrast, a unit increase in the Ideal figure resulted in a non-significant decrease in BMI by -0.19 kg/m2 . The relationship between the actual body weight and body image discrepancy among Riyadh university students has practical implications for their health

Validity and reliability of the Setswana translation of the Short Form-8 health-related quality of life health survey in adults

Background: The absence of culturally relevant measures in indigenous languages could pose a challenge to epidemiological studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in developing nations. Aim: To explore the feasibility and determine the validity and reliability of the Setswana translation of the HRQoL Short Form-8 (SF-8) among Setswana-speaking adults. Setting: Potchefstroom in the North West province. Methods: Sixty healthy men (n = 26) and women (n = 34), aged 45.5 ± 9.3 years, completed a Setswana translation of the SF-8 questionnaire and the original English version twice, with a 4-week interval between completions. Results: The Setswana SF-8 presented good concurrent validity with the Spearman’s correlation coefficients (ρ) of 0.72 for role physical to 0.91 for social functioning. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the first and second measurements were 0.87 and 0.87, respectively, for the Setswana-translated SF-8 and 0.86 and 0.89 for the original English SF-8. The reliability coefficients were moderate for the mental health (ρ = 0.60), social functioning (ρ = 0.56) and role emotional (ρ = 0.50) domains, as well as the mental component summary (ρ = 0.50) and physical component summary (ρ = 0.45), but fair for the role physical (ρ = 0.43), body pain (ρ = 0.43), general health (ρ = 0.42), physical functioning (ρ = 0.41) and vitality (ρ = 0.38) domains on the translated Setswana version of the SF-8. Conclusion: The Setswana SF-8 version was feasible, acceptable and had acceptable concurrent validity and fair to moderate evidence of test–retest reliability for assessing HRQoL among adult Setswana-speaking community dwellers

Strategies and best practices that enhance participation in regular physical activities among undergraduate university students: A systematic review protocol

Physical activity has health benefits, including lowered obesity, diabetes and hypertension levels. However, participation in regular physical activities among undergraduate students is declining and, instead, physical inactivity sets the path for sedentarism. Strategies and best practices used to enhance participation in regular physical activities among undergraduate students are beneficial for mitigating sedentariness and promoting healthy lifestyles. Therefore, this study aims to present a systematic review protocol that focuses on the strategies and best practices used to enhance participation in regular physical activities among undergraduate university student

Knowledge of non-communicable disease risk factors among community health workers in South Africa

Introduction: Community Health Workers play an important role in supporting patients with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), therefore they need to be constantly updated with current knowledge to enable them to perform their activities effectively. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of NCDs risk factors among Community Health Workers (CHWs) in South Africa. Methodology: A triple “A” approach (assessment, analysis, and action) was used among 40 CHWs working with patients with chronic non-communicable diseases. All CHWs gave voluntary, informed consent in writing and verbally before they were allowed to participate in the study. For the initial assessment, CHWs completed a questionnaire to assess knowledge about the knowledge of NCDs. The questionnaire was analysed to determine their baseline performance. The findings of the assessment identified shortcomings in the knowledge of CHWs, specifically on diabetes and hypertension knowledge. Feedback was given to the CHWs followed by a short training on healthy living, focusing on the risk factors associated with NCDs (diabetes and hypertension). Training of CHWs was conducted using an adapted national training programme together with CHW prevention of healthy lifestyle modules designed by experts from the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape. All statistical tests were two-tailed, and p<.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The majority (97.5%) of the CHWs who had their knowledge assessed were women. Fifty-five percent (55%) were within age 30-45 years, while 45% were between the ages 46-60 years. The majority of the participants had secondary school education (92.5%) and 1-15 years of experience (97.5%) as CHWs. The results of the post-training assessment revealed that 48.5%, 63.6%, 42.4%, 72.7%, 42.5%, 57.6%, and 18.2% had poor knowledge of diabetes, hypertension, diabetes complications, hypertension complications, advice for diabetic patient, advice for hypertension, and nutrition advice of NCDs, respectively. Regression analysis showed that those with higher education levels were significantly highly likely to be knowledgeable about hypertension complications (OR=19.6, CI=1.14, 336.0)

Community and home-based exercise for the prevention and treatment

Using Evidence. Improving live

Physical activity and non-communicable disease risk factors: Knowledge and perceptions of youth in a low resourced community in the Western Cape

The youth's lack of knowledge and misconception on Physical Activity (PA) and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) risk factors aid the growing burden of NCDs globally. This study explored the knowledge and perception of youth in a low-resource community in the Western Cape Province.A qualitative methodological approach was used for data collection, using a qualitative exploratory study design. Convenience sampling was used to select participants, aged 18-35 years old from Vrygrond in the Western Cape Province. Focused group discussions were steered by means of a semi-structured interview questionnaire to guide the discussion about perceptions and knowledge of PA and NCDs risk factors. Discussions were analysed using Atlas.Ti8

Body circumference parameters predict body mass index in children aged 2-5 years

Body circumference parameters have become simple screening measurements that can be used as an indicator of body fat distribution to detect pediatric obesity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships that exist between body circumference parameters of head, neck, arm, forearm, waist, hip, mid-thigh, front-thigh and body mass index (BMI). A total of forty randomly selected children with the mean age of 2.97 years participated in this study. Stature, body mass, and body circumferences were measured according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropmetry (ISAK). All the participants’ parents completed informed consent forms before their children could be allowed to participate in the study. There was a significant correlation between the hip and neck circumferences and BMI. Regression analyses revealed that BMI was best predicted by the combined effect of neck and hi neck circumferences. Combined effects of hip and neck circumferences were significant predictors of BMI in children.IS

Demographic and socio-economic predictors of physical activity among people living with HIV of low socio-economic status

Background: Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for the health of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). Aim: The aim of this study was to determine if age, body weight, height, gender, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), educational attainment, employment status, CD4+ cell count and body mass index (BMI) can predict overall PA among PLWHA of low socio-economic status (SES). Setting: Participants in this study were HIV-infected patients on first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen offered by the South African National Department of Health, and those not on ART. Participants were conveniently sampled from a list at a community health care centre in Cape Town. Methods: This study sample consisted of 978 HIV-infected South Africans. Physical activity data were collected using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Backward multiple linear regression modelling was used to determine the relative influence of variables (age, body weight, height, gender, WHR, educational attainment, employment status, CD4+ count and BMI) on total moderate-to-vigorous PA. Alpha level was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age of the participants was 38.2 (standard deviation [SD] = 8.76) years for men and 33.9 (SD = 8.53) years for women. Physical activity was significantly higher in men (480.2 [SD = 582.9] min/week) than among women (369.35 [SD = 222.53] min/week). The results of the multiple linear regression showed that educational attainment (β = 0.127; p = 0.00), employment (β = −0.087; p = 0.01) and gender (β = 0.235; p = 0.00) significantly predicted total moderate-to-vigorous PA. Gender had the greatest effect, followed by educational attainment and employment status. Conclusion: There is a need for PA programmes that are designed to (1) target women, (2) strengthen programmes for education and promotion of PA and (3) engage the unemployed into PA for PLWHA. Physical activity interventions for this particular group should be tailored for persons of low SES

Managing noncommunicable diseases in an African community: effects, compliance, and barriers to participation in a 4-week exercise intervention

To determine the compliance, barriers, and effects of participation in a 4-week exercise intervention aimed at reducing risk factors for noncommunicable diseases among community-dwelling adults from a low-resourced area of South Africa. An exercise program and associated pre-posttest were performed by 76 participants (men, n = 26 and women, n = 50) aged 35 to 65 years. Baseline and end tests included height, weight, hip and waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, quality of life, and cardiorespiratory fitness measurements. The intervention consisted of 3 days/week combined aerobic and resistance exercise at an intensity of 70% heart rate reserved as determined at baseline. Compliance and barriers to participation were determined post-intervention by means of attendance registers and interviews. ANCOVA with adjustment for pretest was performed for all repeated variables. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for exercise benefits were 0.81 and for barriers 0.84. Of the 26 men (40.8 ± 5.45 years) and 50 women (43.6 ± 7.8 years) recruited, 54 completed the intervention (71% compliance). The 4-week aerobic exercise intervention significantly reduced body mass, rate of perceived exertion, and mental components summary in men, and body mass, body mass index, VO2max, rate of perceived exertion, glucose, physical components summary, and mental components summary in women. Participants reported that the exercise milieu as a major barrier to exercise compliance while the interviews reported lack of time. A 1-month exercise intervention elucidated positive changes in risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in a low-resource community. A drop-out rate of 29% in this study is consistent with other exercise intervention trials. Exploration of the reported barriers may be useful for planning to increase compliance with future programs

Cardiorespiratory fitness testing in Setswana-speaking community-dwelling adults in Potchefstroom, South Africa

Accurate measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness is important for observing changes induced by exercise interventions. To obtain accurate measurements, the testing protocol should be acceptable to participants so as to ensure a high level of compliance. The purpose of this study therefore was to compare individual and group cardiorespiratory fitness testing, and to determine whether metronome-accompanied fitness testing compared to culturally-specific music accompaniment increased the rate of completion of an eight-minute graded step test among Setswana-speaking community-dwelling adults. Twenty-seven men (41.9 ± 6.2 years) and 25 women (43.0 ± 6.3 years), all apparently healthy, were recruited for this once-off acute exercise testing of four different protocols. Participants were randomly allocated to four protocols: Individual Metronome (MTI), Individual Music (MUI), Group Metronome (MTG), and Group Music (MUG) one week apart. The sub-maximal exercise protocols were performed according to the graded eight minute step test, a built-in function of the combined heart rate and accelerometry device (Actiheart®) for estimating VO2max. Alpha level (significance) was set at p0.05). Cardiorespiratory fitness testing on an individual basis accompanied by a metronome is an acceptable protocol for community-dwelling adults, and appears to be useful for intervention studies in low-resourced community settings