Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Amongst British and Saudi Youth: A Cross-Cultural Study

Yahya Al-Nakeeb, Mark Lyons, Peter Collins, Anwar Al-Nuaim, Hazzaa Al-Hazzaa, Michael J. Duncan and Alan Nevill
Additional contact information
Yahya Al-Nakeeb: School of Human Sciences, Newman University College, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT, UK
Mark Lyons: School of Human Sciences, Newman University College, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT, UK
Peter Collins: School of Human Sciences, Newman University College, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT, UK
Anwar Al-Nuaim: School of Human Sciences, Newman University College, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT, UK
Hazzaa Al-Hazzaa: Exercise Physiology Laboratory, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2458, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Michael J. Duncan: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, James Starley Building, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK
Alan Nevill: School of Performing Arts and Leisure, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus, Gorway Road, Walsall, WS1 3BD, UK

IJERPH, 2012, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: This study explores differences in weight status, obesity and patterns of physical activity (PA) in relation to gender and age of youth from two culturally, environmentally and geographically diverse countries, the United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). A total of 2,290 males and females (15–17 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Participants completed a validated self-report questionnaire that contained 47 items relating to patterns of PA, sedentary activity and eating habits. The questionnaire allows the calculation of total energy expenditure in metabolic equivalent (MET-min) values per week. Significant differences in percentage of overweight/obese and levels of PA were evident between the youth from the two countries, with males being generally more physically active than females. Additionally, there were significant associations between Body Mass Index (BMI), PA and sedentary behaviors; the youth with higher BMI reported lower levels of PA and higher amounts of sedentary time. These findings highlight the diverse nature of lifestyle of youth living in different geographical areas of the world and the need for further research to explore the socio-cultural factors that impact on the prevalence of obesity and patterns of PA of youth in different populations.

Keywords: obesity; physical activity; young people; lifestyle; environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/4/1490/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/4/1490/ (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:9:y:2012:i:4:p:1490-1506:d:17209

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 ().