Factors and barriers associated with physical inactivity among youth in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction the last statistics showed that Saudi Arabia has an alarming prevalence of physical inactivity so the goal of this paper is to give a brief overview of the published studies about the prevalence of physical activity among young people aged from 14 to 25 in ksa and discuss the factors associated with physical inactivity. Methodology A literature Search was done in December 2016 with Medline, PubMed Saudi Journals and J store search and following search terms were used: physical activity, physical inactivity, lifestyle, adolescent, young, and college students. Only studies done on Saudi population were selected. All related published articles from any time period through December 2016 were included. 40 articles talking about physical activity in Saudi Arabia were found, but 7 articles only targeted this young group who aged from 15–25 included in the review article. The rest of the40 articles excluded because it targeted another age groups. After selection of the articles, we collected from each selected articles these information: Authors, region in which research was conducted, samples characteristics (number, size, gender, age), physical activity measurements tools, and physical activity prevalence. Results The size of the samples in the studies included, ranged from 94 to 2908. Most studies used the ArabTeensLifestyleStudy (ATLS) questionnaire. the total rate of physical inactivity was high as it ranged from 57& to 64.4% for both for age group from 15 to 25 while physical activity for both gender ranged from 13.9% to 26%. The major factors that contribute in inactivity are: time limitation, lack of facility and health problems. Conclusion Prevalence of physical activity among adolescents in ksa is low and, the sedentary lifestyle is prevalent among this young group the majority of Saudi population are children and adolescent. And they represent more than half of the population in ksa. So, our top priority is prevention of diseases related to inactivity and interfere at young age.