PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS OF RESIDENT UNIVERSITY OF GHANA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

Background: Insufficient physical activity (PA) has been linked to several non-communicable diseases. Studies describing the physical activity levels of Ghanaian young adults in reference to the global recommendations are seriously scanty. The university period offers policymakers a window of opportunity to promote healthy behaviours in a vast number of young adults accessing tertiary education. This study was conducted to provide data on the prevalence and patterns of physical activity among young adults residing on the campus of Ghana’s largest university.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and patterns of physical activity among resident undergraduates.

Methods: Study design was descriptive cross-sectional. The long version of the International physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ-LF) was used to collect data on the physical activity behaviour of resident students. A stratified sampling technique was used to select a total of 398 undergraduates (281 males, 117 females) from five halls of residence. Sociodemographic data included weight, height and participation in competitive sports. Normality of data was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Physical activity data were summarised as medians, first and third quartiles. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine differences in medians among non-normally distributed variables.

Results: Walking for at least 10 minutes was prevalent (92.7%) among resident undergraduates. More than one half of males spent 500 minutes in a week walking whiles more than one half of females spent 210 minutes walking across all domains. Transportation domain contributed highest (41.35%) to the PA levels of undergraduates. Analysis of PA data showed that 39.9% were highly active, 43.0% were moderately active and 17% were inactive. Overall, the prevalence of physical activity was 82.9% in reference to WHO global PA recommendations. By sex, prevalence of inactivity was

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significantly (p