Physical Activity and Health Beliefs among Saudi Women

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Abstract

Background. Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits and disease prevention and is often prescribed in managing many health conditions. Understanding the cultural influences is relevant in order to effectively promote PA. The objective of this study was to assess the level of PA among Saudi women, measured by daily step count, and the association between PA and health beliefs. Methods. A total of 161 eligible participants were asked to complete two questionnaires to assess health beliefs: Health Locus of Control (HLC) and Self-Efficacy Assessment Scale. Each participant was given a pedometer and a diary to record their daily PA for two weeks. Results. One hundred and five participants completed the two weeks pedometer data (mean age 26.3 ± 7.1 years, BMI 25 ± 4.2 kg/m ²). The average pedometer score over two weeks was 5114 ± 2213 steps. Step count had strong correlation with self-efficacy ( r _s = 0.75), mild correlation with internal HLC ( r _s = 0.42), and mild negative correlation with external HLC ( r _s = −0.35). Conclusion. The study demonstrates high level of inactivity among Saudi females in reference to the international recommendation for minimum activity. The data also reveal an association between PA and health beliefs. Ultimately, such information can be used to design gender- and culture-sensitive interventions that could enhance adherence to PA.

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Most cited references 55

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How many steps/day are enough? Preliminary pedometer indices for public health.

Catrine Tudor-Locke, David R Bassett (2004)

Pedometers are simple and inexpensive body-worn motion sensors that are readily being used by researchers and practitioners to assess and motivate physical activity behaviours. Pedometer-determined physical activity indices are needed to guide their efforts. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review the rationale and evidence for general pedometer-based indices for research and practice purposes. Specifically, we evaluate popular recommendations for steps/day and attempt to translate existing physical activity guidelines into steps/day equivalents. Also, we appraise the fragmented evidence currently available from associations derived from cross-sectional studies and a limited number of interventions that have documented improvements (primarily in body composition and/or blood pressure) with increased steps/day.A value of 10000 steps/day is gaining popularity with the media and in practice and can be traced to Japanese walking clubs and a business slogan 30+ years ago. 10000 steps/day appears to be a reasonable estimate of daily activity for apparently healthy adults and studies are emerging documenting the health benefits of attaining similar levels. Preliminary evidence suggests that a goal of 10000 steps/day may not be sustainable for some groups, including older adults and those living with chronic diseases. Another concern about using 10000 steps/day as a universal step goal is that it is probably too low for children, an important target population in the war against obesity. Other approaches to pedometer-determined physical activity recommendations that are showing promise of health benefit and individual sustainability have been based on incremental improvements relative to baseline values. Based on currently available evidence, we propose the following preliminary indices be used to classify pedometer-determined physical activity in healthy adults: (i). or=10000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as 'active'. Individuals who take >12500 steps/day are likely to be classified as 'highly active'.

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Validity of 10 electronic pedometers for measuring steps, distance, and energy cost.

Scott Crouter, Patrick Schneider, Murat Karabulut … (2003)

This study examined the effects of walking speed on the accuracy and reliability of 10 pedometers: Yamasa Skeletone (SK), Sportline 330 (SL330) and 345 (SL345), Omron (OM), Yamax Digiwalker SW-701 (DW), Kenz Lifecorder (KZ), New Lifestyles 2000 (NL), Oregon Scientific (OR), Freestyle Pacer Pro (FR), and Walk4Life LS 2525 (WL). Ten subjects (33 +/- 12 yr) walked on a treadmill at various speeds (54, 67, 80, 94, and 107 m x min-1) for 5-min stages. Simultaneously, an investigator determined steps by a hand counter and energy expenditure (kcal) by indirect calorimetry. Each brand was measured on the right and left sides. Correlation coefficients between right and left sides exceeded 0.81 for all pedometers except OR (0.76) and SL345 (0.57). Most pedometers underestimated steps at 54 m x min-1, but accuracy for step counting improved at faster speeds. At 80 m x min-1 and above, six models (SK, OM, DW, KZ, NL, and WL) gave mean values that were within +/- 1% of actual steps. Six pedometers displayed the distance traveled. Most of them estimated mean distance to within +/- 10% at 80 m x min-1 but overestimated distance at slower speeds and underestimated distance at faster speeds. Eight pedometers displayed kilocalories, but except for KZ and NL, it is unclear whether this should reflect net or gross kilocalories. If one assumes they display net kilocalories, the general trend was an overestimation of kilocalories at every speed. If one assumes they display gross kilocalorie, then seven of the eight pedometers were accurate to within +/-30% at all speeds. In general, pedometers are most accurate for assessing steps, less accurate for assessing distance, and even less accurate for assessing kilocalories.

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The validity and reliability of a novel activity monitor as a measure of walking.

C. Ryan, P Grant, W W Tigbe … (2006)

The accurate measurement of physical activity is crucial to understanding the relationship between physical activity and disease prevention and treatment. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the activPAL physical activity monitor in measuring step number and cadence. The ability of the activPAL monitor to measure step number and cadence in 20 healthy adults (age 34.5+/-6.9 years; BMI 26.8+/-4.8 (mean+/-SD)) was evaluated against video observation. Concurrently, the accuracy of two commonly used pedometers, the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-200 and the Omron HJ-109-E, was compared to observation for measuring step number. Participants walked on a treadmill at five different speeds (0.90, 1.12, 1.33, 1.56, and 1.78 m/s) and outdoors at three self selected speeds (slow, normal, and fast). At all speeds, inter device reliability was excellent for the activPAL (ICC (2,1)> or =0.99) for both step number and cadence. The absolute percentage error for the activPAL was <1.11% for step number and cadence regardless of walking speed. The accuracy of the pedometers was adversely affected by slow walking speeds. The activPAL monitor is a valid and reliable measure of walking in healthy adults. Its accuracy is not influenced by walking speed. The activPAL may be a useful device in sports medicine.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Nutr Metab

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Nutr Metab

Journal ID (publisher-id): JNUME

Title: Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism

Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation

ISSN (Print): 2090-0724

ISSN (Electronic): 2090-0732

Publication date (Print): 2012

Publication date (Electronic): 22 February 2012

Volume: 2012

Electronic Location Identifier: 642187

Affiliations

¹College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 1684, Riyadh 11441, Saudi Arabia

²College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 6941, Riyadh 11452, Saudi Arabia

Author notes

*Hana I. Al-Sobayel: hsobayel@ 123456ksu.edu.sa

Academic Editor: Hazzaa M. Al-Hazzaa

Article

DOI: 10.1155/2012/642187

PMC ID: 3317126

PubMed ID: 22523673

SO-VID: 888b72b7-dea9-4654-a6aa-209a3efe4711

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

History

Date received : 12 May 2011

Date revision received : 30 October 2011

Date accepted : 14 December 2011

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