Cross-Cultural Variation in BMI, Sedentary Behavior, and Physical Activity in International School Girls Residing in Saudi Arabia

Adel A. Alhusaini, Ganeswara Rao Melam and Syamala Buragadda
Additional contact information
Adel A. Alhusaini: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia
Ganeswara Rao Melam: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia
Syamala Buragadda: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: Background: The current study was done to assess the cross-cultural difference in physical activity and sedentary behavior among girls from culturally, environmentally, and geographically diverse countries residing in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted among expatriate girls (N = 275), aged 9–16 years. Participants were from India (n = 65), Pakistan (n = 88), Egypt (n = 50), Sudan (n = 49), and other nationals (n = 23). They were randomly selected from different schools in Riyadh and their Body Mass Index (BMI) and screen time was assessed. Physical activity (PA) and leisure-time activity was assessed using Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GSLTPAQ) respectively. Results: Out of 275, 65.8% were active and 34.2% were insufficiently active as per the GSLTPAQ, and half of them were moderately active and only 22.2% were extremely active as per PAQ-C. No statistical significant differences in their BMI status, screen time, or the levels of PA among expatriate girls. Conclusions: This study shows that the expatriate female school children in Saudi Arabia demonstrated a similar pattern in their BMI, sedentary time spent, and PA levels.

Keywords: body mass index; cross cultural; expatriate school children; physical inactivity; school girls (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/2057/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/2057/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:2057-:d:334704

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().