Abstract—Introduction: According to World Health Organization,
insufficient physical activity is the fourth leading risk factor for
mortality and among the main predisposing factors for noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs) including obesity. Promoting
physical activity is one of the major areas of intervention for
preventing overweight and obesity (7) and assessment of the same
among the adolescents is required for planning a preventive
programme for obesity.
Aims and objectives: To study the physical activity level and its
socio-demographic determinants among school going adolescents in
a small but growing city of Aligarh in India.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study done in two affluent and two
non-affluent schools in Aligarh, taking 330 adolescents from each
group (total-660). Study tools included Global Physical Activity
Questionnaire (GPAQ) and anthropometric measurement of height,
weight, body mass index (BMI). Statistical significance was tested by
chi square test.
Results: Among the study subjects, 57.6% (380) were males. Among
all the adolescents, 28% were having low physical activity level
whereas only 19.4% had high PAL. Majority of the adolescents
(52.6%) were having moderate PAL. High PAL was found to be
significantly lower among girls (5.7% as compared to 29.5% among
boys) and adolescents of affluent schools (15.7% as compared to
23% among those of non-affluent group). A significantly higher
proportion of girls spent more than 2 hours per day viewing
Television (17.1% vs 9.7% of boys) and more than 10 hours per day
in overall sedentary pursuits (10% vs 4.5% of boys). 10.3% of
overweight and obese adolescents had high PAL as compared to 21%
among the non-overweight adolescents (statistically significant
difference).
Conclusion and recommendations: PAL among majority of school
going adolescents is inadequate. Behavior change communication
and built environment for physical activity are recommended among
adolescents with more focus among females and adolescents of
affluent group for primary prevention of obesity.