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Practices, knowledge and attitudes towards physical exercise among females above 21 years in Sharjah

Omar Tayseer Al ali

 The WHO recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly. However, insufficient physical activity contributes to 3.2 million deaths each year (wattanapisit.2016), highlighting the drastic need for identifying the primary reasons for not being physically active, as well as the current level of PA & women’s attitude toward it. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire, a sample of 350 women were collected during the period from October 2016 to May 2017. Data was entered & analyzed using SPSS23 software. Our results have shown that women with a level of education with a bachelor’s degree or beyond, are more active according to TLAS godin scale (51.1%). Women who have 4 children or more are more likely to be inactive (17.5% activity) compared to women who have less children (36.0% activity) (p=0.006). The most perceived benefits of physical exercise among women was that exercise improves the way their body looks (94%). Despite only 47.2% of our sample having above normal BMI, 66.6% had intentions to lose weight. Majority (85.17%) correctly guessed what constitutes being physically active, in terms of the WHO recommended hours and days, 61.71% were inactive; most did not exercise despite knowing how much is needed. Unsuitable climate was the 3rd most reported hindrance to exercising (35.7%. Thus, nationwide interventions are recommended to help contest the high level of inactivity encompassing the region, establishing special events where people can both socialize and exercise is one of the suggested solutions