Odunaiya N A, Ayodele O A, Oguntibeju O O
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
West Indian Med J. 2010 Oct;59(5):529-34.
Inactivity and low levels of physical activity are predisposing factors to many chronic diseases such as heart disease which are showing an increase in prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa generally and Nigeria in particular. Physical activity levels have been found to be decreasing among young people in many countries around the world resulting in a state where young people are not found to be sufficiently active in order to safeguard their present and future health and well-being.
This study was designed to assess the physical activity levels of students in government-owned senior secondary schools located in the South-east Municipality, Ibadan, Western Nigeria, and its association with their physical characteristics and level of study.
Multi-stage sampling was used to select participants from senior secondary schools. A modified version of the self-reported physical activity questionnaire for adolescents (PAQ-A) validated for Nigerian adolescents was used for data collection. One thousand and two questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. The questionnaire was designed to collect the respondents' demographic data and assess their physical activity levels. One thousand (1000) questionnaires were completed. Two of the 1002 questionnaires were not properly completed and were therefore discarded. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and cumulative percentage. A table was used to present the results. The chi-square test was used to determine the association between physical activity levels and the physical characteristics of the participants. Independent t-test was used to determine the difference in the physical activity levels of the participants.
The results indicated that 38% of the participants engaged in low activity levels, 58.8% in moderate activity levels and 3.2% in high activity levels. Furthermore, physical activity levels (PAL) had significant positive associations with the physical characteristics of the participants and males appeared to be significantly more active than females.
Adolescents are not involved in adequate physical activities that could safeguard their present and future health and well-being. Therefore, it is recommended that there should be educational programmes in place which emphasize the benefits of exercise, primordial prevention of future chronic and cardiovascular diseases and also the incorporation of physical education in the secondary school curriculum.
缺乏运动和低水平的身体活动是许多慢性疾病（如心脏病）的诱发因素，这些疾病在撒哈拉以南非洲地区总体呈上升趋势，在尼日利亚尤为明显。据发现，世界上许多国家年轻人的身体活动水平在下降，导致年轻人的活动量不足以保障他们当前和未来的健康与福祉。
本研究旨在评估位于尼日利亚西部伊巴丹市东南部行政区的政府所有的高中学生的身体活动水平，及其与学生身体特征和学习水平的关联。
采用多阶段抽样从高中学生中选取参与者。使用经过尼日利亚青少年验证的青少年自我报告身体活动问卷（PAQ - A）的修改版进行数据收集。向受访者发放了1002份问卷。该问卷旨在收集受访者的人口统计学数据并评估他们的身体活动水平。共完成了1000份问卷。1002份问卷中有2份填写不完整，因此被丢弃。使用均值、标准差和累积百分比的描述性统计方法对数据进行分析。结果以表格形式呈现。采用卡方检验确定身体活动水平与参与者身体特征之间的关联。使用独立t检验确定参与者身体活动水平的差异。
结果表明，38%的参与者身体活动水平较低，58.8%处于中等活动水平，3.2%处于高活动水平。此外，身体活动水平（PAL）与参与者的身体特征呈显著正相关，男性的活动量似乎明显高于女性。
青少年未参与足够的身体活动来保障他们当前和未来的健康与福祉。因此，建议应制定教育计划，强调运动的益处、对未来慢性疾病和心血管疾病的一级预防，以及将体育教育纳入中学课程。
