Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, University of South-Eastern Norway, PO box 235, 3603, Horten, Kongsberg, Norway.
Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Oslo, Norway.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 19;21(1):166. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10217-w.
The Sahrawi people fled their homes in 1975 as the conflict in Western Sahara escalated and settled down near Tindouf, Algeria, where they still live. High prevalence of overweight and obesity and type 2 diabetes had been found in this protracted refugee setting. Scaling up national policy efforts to promote physical activity (PA) is critical to reducing the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the near future. One possible barrier to the inclusion of PA in NCD prevention strategies is the lack of research on PA level, which may reduce political support and policy development for PA. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the PA level among adults living in Sahrawi refugee camps and socioeconomic factors associated with PA.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2014 in five refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. A total of 180 women and 175 men were included. PA was measured using the international physical activity questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF).
There was a large amount of variance in reported PA for both genders, ranging from 10 min of total PA per week to above 40 h. Forty-three percent of the participants had a low PA level (defined as not meeting the PA recommendations of 150 min of moderate to vigorous PA per day). The chi-square test of independence showed that males, those aged ≥ 60 years and people with higher education were more likely to be in the low PA level category. No significant relationship was found between PA level and BMI status. Most of the participants thought that engaging in PA would be wise, valuable, right and good but thought to a lesser degree that PA would be easy, comfortable and interesting.
Almost half of the participants were categorised as insufficiently physically active, however, most of the Sahrawi refugees express a positive attitude towards PA. PA is a low-cost approach to reducing deaths and NCDs, government initiatives to increase PA levels in refugee camps are advised.
1975 年，西撒哈拉冲突升级，撒哈拉人逃离家园，在阿尔及利亚廷杜夫附近定居，至今仍居住在那里。在这个长期的难民环境中，超重和肥胖以及 2 型糖尿病的患病率很高。在不久的将来，扩大国家政策努力以促进身体活动（PA）对于降低非传染性疾病（NCD）的患病率至关重要。将 PA 纳入 NCD 预防策略的一个可能障碍是缺乏 PA 水平的研究，这可能会降低 PA 的政治支持和政策制定。因此，本研究旨在调查居住在撒哈拉难民营中的成年人的 PA 水平以及与 PA 相关的社会经济因素。
2014 年在阿尔及利亚廷杜夫附近的五个难民营进行了横断面调查。共纳入 180 名女性和 175 名男性。使用国际体力活动问卷短表（IPAQ-SF）测量 PA。
两性的报告 PA 差异很大，范围从每周 10 分钟的总 PA 到 40 多小时。43%的参与者处于低 PA 水平（定义为不符合每天 150 分钟中等至剧烈 PA 的 PA 建议）。独立性卡方检验表明，男性、年龄≥60 岁和受过高等教育的人更有可能处于低 PA 水平类别。PA 水平与 BMI 状况之间没有显著关系。大多数参与者认为从事 PA 将是明智、有价值、正确和良好的，但认为 PA 将是容易、舒适和有趣的程度较低。
几乎一半的参与者被归类为体力活动不足，然而，大多数撒哈拉难民对 PA 持积极态度。PA 是降低死亡和 NCD 风险的低成本方法，建议政府在难民营中采取措施提高 PA 水平。
