Research Article

Level of Physical Activity Among Female College Students of Karachi

Ifra Zameer¹*, Muhammad Asif², Erum Tanveer³, Vinod Kumar⁴, Tooba Khan⁵, Shahbuddin⁶ and Saifullah Khan⁷

¹ Physical Therapist, Body works, Karachi

²Principal, Isra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isra University, Karachi

³ Principal & Assistant Professor, United College of Physical Therapy, Karachi

⁴Assistant Professor, Isra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isra University, Karachi

⁵ Physical Therapist, 3D-Lifestyle, Karachi

⁶ Senior Lecturer, United College of Physical Therapy, Karachi

⁷ Lecturer, United College of Physical Therapy, Karachi

Submission: October 29, 2019; Published:November 13, 2019

*Corresponding author:Ifra Zameer, Physical Therapist, Body works, Karachi, Pakistan

How to cite this article:Ifra Zameer, Muhammad Asif, Erum Tanveer, Vinod Kumar, Tooba Khan. Level of Physical Activity Among Female College Students of Karachi. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2019; 7(2): 555708. DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2019.07.555708

Abstract

Aim of study:To determine the level of physical activity among female college students of Karachi

Study design: cross sectional study

Methodology: The study was conducted in different colleges of Karachi. This was a cross sectional study. 150 female students of Karachi participated in the study

Results: Total 150 number of female students were included in this study who were studying in different colleges of Karachi, between the age group of 16-21 years, the result of this study has found that majority of females had physical

Conclusion: It has been concluded from the study that majority of the participants were found to be inactive. This study further revealed that most of the students reported low level of physical activity because they are not engaged in physical fitness program or exercises. This seems to stem from earlier in life, due to lack of support and motivation for physical exercise and sports, received during primary and secondary schooling. This negative attitude has become a significant ‘internal’ barrier, which has not been changed in spite of their education.

Keywords:Alcohol consumption; Diet, Sedentary lifestyle; Diabetes mellitus; Metabolic syndrome, Obesity; Smoking; Hypertension; Hyperlipidemia

Introduction

Any reasonably bodily movement made by skeletal muscles that end up in energy consumption [1]. There are four different kinds of physical activity. Those are Aerobic exercises, Muscle-Strengthening exercises, Bone-Strengthening exercises, and stretching exercises [2]. Physical exercise has several health advantages. These advantages apply to individuals of all age and races and each sex. Reduce of rarity conjugated proteins whereas increasing high density lipoprotein Improve of aldohexose metabolism in patients with sort II polygenic disease Improved strength and endurance Improvement in self-worth Improvement of body image Reduction within the incidence of back injuries. Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and improve your mood. Improve digestion and promotes regular gut movements. Increases bone density [3]. Alcohol consumption, Diet, Sedentary lifestyle, Diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, Obesity, Smoking, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, Pregnancy, Chronic condition, Stress. Inactivity due to aging or getting older [4]. Physical activity (PA) is a health enhancing behavior when practiced regularly, PA reduces the risk for a range of chronic disease. Also, among the young, current and future health benefits can be obtained through engaging in physically active lifestyle. It helps building strong bones, healthy joints, a strong heart, a good mental health and prevents today’s major public health concern obesity [5]. In general, girls are more likely to hold to a sedentary lifestyle within adulthood in comparison with boys. Researches in different societies have reported low level of physical activity among girls. There are some cultural barriers opposing the Iranian women for exercising in public places. In addition, physical activity declines precipitously with increased age among adolescents, especially in girls. However, the current studies on social and environmental determinants of physical activity behavior are limited to Western countries [6].

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted in different colleges of Karachi. This was a cross sectional study. 150 female students of Karachi participated in the study. Data was collected through face to face interviews and international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) with informed consent.

Results

A total number of 150 students were enlisted for the results.

Table 1 is categorized according demographic information of the participants. The result showed that 88.7% of the participants were between 16-18 years and 11.3% of the participants were between 19-21 years of age.

Table 2 is categorized according to the job-related activity when they feel particularly low or down from 2 weeks or more? Out of 150 participants, 149(99.3%) said no at all; 1(7%) said somewhat.

Table 3 is categorized according to the sitting on weekdays when they feel particularly low or down from 2 weeks or more? Out of 150 participants, 24(16%) said less than 5 hours; 88(58.7%) said 5-10 hours; 38(25.3%) said 11-15 hours. Total 150 number of female students were included in this study who were studying in different colleges of Karachi, between the age group of 16-21 years, the result of this study has found that majority of females had physical activity below average.

Discussion

Several studies have been done on this topic before and this study will add more information regarding physical activity in female students. A study conducted among students of Iran demonstrated that students have low level of physical activity [7]. Similar results were observed in this study where females were found to be less physicality active because they don’t participate in physical fitness program or exercises. Consistent with the results of the results of present study also indicated that self-efficacy is the most effective factor of physical activities. Therefore, interventions that target self-efficacy can be applied for the promotion and maintenance of physical activity among this group [8,9]. Whereas in this study results shows that due to lack of physical activity or exercise majority of the participant are inactive. One possible explanation for the apparent decrease in the physical activity of female students could be the diminishing of their living places. The small places where students spend most of their time at, such as apartments and not very well-developed schools provide less opportunity for performing the favorable physical exercises. Also, female teenagers may have limited chances for doing physical exercises publicly, which may further increase the tendency for adhering to a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, obesity and other complications of sedentary lifestyle (i.e. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc) may increase among the female soon [10]. Whereas in this study it revealed that most of the students reported low level of physical activity because they are not engaged in physical fitness program or exercises. This seems to stem from earlier in life, due to lack of support and motivation for physical exercise and sports. In another study conducted to identify the factors affecting the performance of physical activity, most of the students mentioned that doing physical activity waste their time [11,12]. Whereas in this study it reveals that people with optimal level of physical activity or indulged in physical task has higher level of performance and those are not indulged are lazy and cannot perform their task properly. Also, the results of the survey conducted indicated that students mentioned the lack of safe and accessible places for performing physical activity as well as the not supportive family as the main barriers, which was consistent with some other studies [13-15].

Previous study comparing physical activity level in day scholars and hostellers has reported hostellers had significantly lesser physical activity compared to the day scholars in the transport domain and recreational domain. On further analysis, hostel residence was found to be the significant risk factor for low physical activity [16]. In the present study, reason for poor physical activity level in students may be physical inactivity during the daily routine and travel domain. They can be encouraged to improve their physical activity level on daily basis. Low physical activity during the most active period of a person’s life can predict middle-aged behavior adapting into an even more sedentary lifestyle. This may lead to various diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer etc. in their future life as adults [17]. Increasing the public knowledge about adopting physical activity habits in daily routine has been suggested for planning effective preventive strategies. Group health discussions, pamphlets, posters etc can be used for the purpose. College activities should include compulsory extracurricular activities to be undertaken by the students such as including sports, athletics, aerobics or yoga. All these health measures should be regarded not as an indulgence but ab investment [18]. Similar results were observed in our study as the participants are not in a habit of doing physical activity, they also tend to have a sedentary lifestyle. So, it is recommended that they should participate in physical activity in order to avoid the risk factors of developing different diseases.

Conclusion

The results revealed that majority of participants were found to be inactive. The study further concluded that most of the students reported low level of physical activity because they don’t engage in physical fitness program or exercises. This seems to stem from earlier in life, due to lack of support and motivation for physical exercise and sports, received during primary and secondary schooling. This negative attitude has become a significant ‘internal’ barrier, which has not been changed despite their education.

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