Physical Activity in Malaysia: Are We Doing Enough? Findings from the REDISCOVER Study

Nik Munirah Nik-Nasir (), Mazapuspavina Md-Yasin, Farnaza Ariffin, Nafiza Mat-Nasir, Maizatullifah Miskan, Najmin Abu-Bakar and Khalid Yusoff
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Nik Munirah Nik-Nasir: Primary Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia
Mazapuspavina Md-Yasin: Primary Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia
Farnaza Ariffin: Primary Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia
Nafiza Mat-Nasir: Primary Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia
Maizatullifah Miskan: Primary Care Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National Defence University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Najmin Abu-Bakar: Centre for Translational Research and Epidemiology (CenTRE), Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia
Khalid Yusoff: Centre for Translational Research and Epidemiology (CenTRE), Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: Physical activity (PA) in the form of structured or unstructured exercise is beneficial for health. This paper aims to study PA levels across four domains according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and its associated factors. A total of 7479 Malaysian adult participants between 18 to 90 years old from the REDISCOVER study who completed the IPAQ were analyzed. PA was calculated as MET-min per week and were categorized according to insufficiently active, sufficiently active and very active. Multinomial regression was used to determine the association between sociodemographic, clinical factors and the level of PA. The mean age of the participants was 51.68 (±9.5 SD). The total reported physical activity in median (IQR) was 1584.0 (0–5637.3) MET-min per week. The highest total for PA was in the domestic domain which is 490 (0–2400) MET-min per week. Factors associated with sufficiently active or very active PA include Malay ethnicity, no formal education, elementary occupation, current smokers and high HDL. Whereas low income, male and normal BMI are less likely to participate in sufficiently active or very active PA. Intervention to encourage higher PA levels in all domains is important to achieve recommended PA targets.

Keywords: physical activity; prevalence; patterns of physical activity; IPAQ; Malaysia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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