The prevalence of sedentary behavior among university students in Saudi Arabia

Mohammad A Alahmadi; Khalid H Almasoud; Amani H Aljahani; Naweed S Alzaman; Omar M Al-Nozha; Osama M Alahmadi; Rola A Jalloun; Eman M Alfadhli; Jomana M Alahmadi; Areeg A Zuair; Naif S Alzahrani; Ahmed A Alahmdi; Mansour A Alghamdi; Abdulaziz A Aldayel; Sulaiman O Aljaloud; Obead M Alharbi; Anwar Al-Nuaim; Shokrya S Alshqaq; Basim S Alsaedi; Afaf Alrashidi; Osama A Alamri; Abdulwahed S Alshaikhi; Fahad J Al-Thumali; Khaled A Alshdokhi; Abdulmohsen Bin Awn; Ali Abdullah Jifri; Osama Aljuhani; Khalid S Aljaloud; Munirah Fayez Al-Mudarra; Mohammed G A Ansari; Nasser M Al-Daghri

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18107-7

The prevalence of sedentary behavior among university students in Saudi Arabia

BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 26;24(1):605. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18107-7.

Authors

Mohammad A Alahmadi¹, Khalid H Almasoud¹, Amani H Aljahani², Naweed S Alzaman³, Omar M Al-Nozha³, Osama M Alahmadi⁴, Rola A Jalloun⁵, Eman M Alfadhli³, Jomana M Alahmadi⁶, Areeg A Zuair⁷, Naif S Alzahrani⁸, Ahmed A Alahmdi⁹, Mansour A Alghamdi¹⁰, Abdulaziz A Aldayel¹¹, Sulaiman O Aljaloud¹¹, Obead M Alharbi¹², Anwar Al-Nuaim¹³, Shokrya S Alshqaq¹⁴, Basim S Alsaedi¹⁵, Afaf Alrashidi¹⁵, Osama A Alamri¹⁵, Abdulwahed S Alshaikhi¹⁶, Fahad J Al-Thumali¹⁷, Khaled A Alshdokhi¹⁸, Abdulmohsen Bin Awn¹⁹, Ali Abdullah Jifri²⁰, Osama Aljuhani²¹, Khalid S Aljaloud¹¹, Munirah Fayez Al-Mudarra²², Mohammed G A Ansari²³, Nasser M Al-Daghri²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Sport Science and Physical Activity Department, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
² Physical Sport Science Department, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Medicine Department, College of Medicine, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ College of Medicine, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Nutrition and Food Science Department, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Community Health Nursing Department, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ College of Medicine, Al-Rayan Colleges, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Anatomy Department, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Exercise Physiology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Collage of Education, Qassim University, Burayday, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Physical Education Department, Education College, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ Department of Mathematics, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ Department of Statistics, College of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁶ Department of Mathematics, College of Science & Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁷ Department of Sport Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁸ Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, College of Education, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁹ Department of General Curricula and Instruction, College of Education, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²⁰ Department of Sport Science, College of Sport Sciences, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
²¹ Department of Physical Education, College of Sports Science and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²² Department of Home Economics, College of Education, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Wadi Al-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia.
²³ Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Biochemistry Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²⁴ Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Biochemistry Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ndaghri@ksu.edu.sa.

Abstract

Background: A considerable body of research has demonstrated that reducing sitting time benefits health. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the prevalence of sedentary behavior (SB) and its patterns.

Methods: A total of 6975 university students (49.1% female) were chosen randomly to participate in a face-to-face interview. The original English version of the sedentary behavior questionnaire (SBQ) was previously translated into Arabic. Then, the validated Arabic version of the SBQ was used to assess SB. The Arabic SBQ included 9 types of SB (watching television, playing computer/video games, sitting while listening to music, sitting and talking on the phone, doing paperwork or office work, sitting and reading, playing a musical instrument, doing arts and crafts, and sitting and driving/riding in a car, bus or train) on weekdays and weekends.

Results: SBQ indicated that the total time of SB was considerably high (478.75 ± 256.60 and 535.86 ± 316.53 (min/day) during weekdays and weekends, respectively). On average, participants spent the most time during the day doing office/paperwork (item number 4) during weekdays (112.47 ± 111.11 min/day) and weekends (122.05 ± 113.49 min/day), followed by sitting time in transportation (item number 9) during weekdays (78.95 ± 83.25 min/day) and weekends (92.84 ± 100.19 min/day). The average total sitting time of the SBQ was 495.09 ± 247.38 (min/day) and 58.4% of the participants reported a high amount of sitting time (≥ 7 hours/day). Independent t-test showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between males and females in all types of SB except with doing office/paperwork (item number 4). The results also showed that male students have a longer daily sitting time (521.73 ± 236.53 min/day) than females (467.38 ± 255.28 min/day). Finally, 64.1% of the males reported a high amount of sitting time (≥ 7 hours/day) compared to females (52.3%).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the total mean length of SB in minutes per day for male and female university students was considerably high. About 58% of the population appeared to spend ≥7 h/day sedentary. Male university students are likelier to sit longer than female students. Our findings also indicated that SB and physical activity interventions are needed to raise awareness of the importance of adopting an active lifestyle and reducing sitting time.

Keywords: Physical activity; Questionnaire based study; Sedentary behavior; Sedentary lifestyle; Survey study.

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
Sedentary Behavior*
Students*
Universities