Physical Activity Level Among University Students: A Cross Sectional Survey

Background and Objective: Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Physical inactivity levels are rising in developing countries and Malaysia is of no exception. Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey 2003 reported that the prevalence of physical inactivity was 39.7% and the prevalence was higher for women (42.6%) than men (36.7%). In Malaysia, the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 reported that 43.7% (5.5 million) of Malaysian adults were physically inactive. These statistics show that physically inactive is an important public health concern in Malaysia. College students have been found to have poor physical activity habits. The objective of this study was to identify the physical activity level among students of Asia Metropolitan University (AMU) in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: The study design was a cross sectional survey. A total of 100 participants comprising of 50 male and 50 female students were selected for the study by means of convenience sampling. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form was used to identify the physical activity level. Results: A greater percentage of males (56%) showed high physical activity level than females (24%). In contrast, females showed high percentage of low physical activity level. Students in the age range of 22-25 years depicted more percentage (43.5%) of high physical activity level. When comparison of physical activity levels were done among different races, Indian students showed greater percentage (61.8%) of high physical activity level. Furthermore, students who were underweight and overweight had 50% and 46.7% of high physical activity levels respectively which are greater than the values observed in normal body weight students. Conclusion: The physical activity level among students was found satisfactory although the percentage of low level of physical activity was found higher in female students.