Objective and Subjective Investigation of Physical Activity Levels and its Relation with Socio-Demographic Characteristics among Medical Students

Introduction: The Importance of physical activity (PA) assessment in medical students, as a special group in the population, that are facing various challenges during medical training is obvious. Combining the results of objective and subjective assessments of PA can provide a more complete assessment of PA patterns in medical students. This study aimed to determine the relationships between objective and subjective measured PA and its relation with socio-demographic characteristics among different stages of medical training.Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted on ۱۸۶ students among different stages of medical training including basic science, physiopathology, clerkship, and internship. Sampling began after approval by the Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.TBZMED, REC, ۱۳۹۶.۷۷). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short-Form (IPAQ-SF) and pedometer were used to compare the subjective and objective measures of PA. Descriptive and inferential analysis included Spearman Rho correlation, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Chi-square tests were used for analyzing data through SPSS ۲۳. Results: There were significant differences in total PA in terms of gender, weight, and serious illness. Differences between four stages of medical training in total (p=۰.۰۰۲), vigorous (p<۰.۰۰۱), and moderate PA (۰.۰۲۶) based on IPAQ-SF as well as pedometer-counted steps in Tuesday (p=۰.۰۰۲) and Wednesday (p=۰.۰۰۶) were significant. The results demonstrated a positive significant relationship between total PA based on IPAQ-SF and pedometer-determined steps in four days of the week. Conclusion: There were positive low correlations between PA based on IPAQ-SF and pedometer pedometer-counted steps among medical students. The PA of medical students at different years of medical training was different based on both IPAQ-SF and pedometer, which shows the need to pay attention to the special needs of students in terms of PA at each stage. A۲۹

Keywords:

Physical Activity , Medical students , Pedometer , IPAQ , Self-Report