Abstract
Purpose: Physical activity is recognized as an important tool to increase life quality and decrease disease burden. Data on physical activity trends, barriers and facilitators among adolescents in Saudi Arabia is scarce. While most of the research on physical activity has been conducted on age groups such as 14-19 and 15-19 years, there is lack of research on the adolescent group (10-19 years). "Jeeluna" (Arabic for "Our Generation") is a national school-based study aiming to identify health risk behaviors and health status of adolescents in Saudi Arabia. Here we share findings from Jeeluna that will help identify socio-demographic characteristics of adolescents who participate in physical activity, as well as their associated health and lifestyle behaviors, which will support program development addressing adolescents' local needs. Methods: A cross sectional, national study was conducted in intermediate and secondary schools in all 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. Sampling was done through multistage, cluster, random sampling technique. Boys and girls from public and private schools (N=12,463) aged 10-19 years were invited to complete the survey instrument which included demographics, health risk behaviors and health status, anthropometric measurements and blood sampling for laboratory investigations. Physical activity was assessed by asking participants how many days in the past week they had engaged in exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. Adolescents who performed exercise 1-7 days were considered as 'engage in exercise'. Sedentary lifestyle included how much time they spent on TV, internet, video games, and cell phone each day. Those who spent more than 2 hours a day was considered as 'sedentary lifestyle'. Results: Mean age of the participants was 15.8=0.8 years, and 51.3% were male. Most of the participants (97.9%) lived in urban area. Little over half (53.4%) reported engaging in exercise regularly and over one-third (35.4%) engaged in physical activity at school. Out of the 13 regions, Jizan had the highest mean number of days per week spent doing >30 minutes of exercise, in total as well as in males, but had the lowest mean among females. Additionally, Jizan also had the highest proportion of total and male students engaging in physical activity in school, but the lowest proportion of females for the same measurement. Significant difference in age, gender, areas of residence, and grade were found in terms of engagement in exercise, being higher among younger adolescents (10-14 years), male, urban area, and intermediate school (p<0.01). Mental health was found to be better (low frequency of feelings of sadness, frustration and anxiety) among adolescents who engaged in exercise regularly (<0.01). Adolescents who engaged in exercise were more likely to eat healthy food (<0.01) and less likely to live a sedentary lifestyle (<0.01). Conclusions: It is imperative that socio-cultural and demographic factors be taken into consideration during program and policy development. This study highlights the urgent need for promotion of physical activity among adolescents in Saudi Arabia and addressing perceived barriers, while also offering a treasure of information to policy and decision makers involved in the progression of adolescent health.