Evaluation of Physical Activity Status among Yazd High School Students on the Model of the World Health Organization in 2015

Introduction: Physical activity and healthy eating at an early age are two keyelements in prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. Therefore, regularphysical activity is recommended to improve public health and to reduce theburden of diseases and medical costs in communities. The aim of this study wasto determine the status of physical activity in Yazd high school studentsMethods: A total number of1018 male high school students participated in thiscross-sectional study. They were permanent residents of Yazd city in the schoolyear of 2015-2016.Multistage cluster classification and stratified sampling methods were applied tocollect samples. A validated Persian standardized World Health Organizationquestionnaire (GSHS) was used as a data collection tool. After completing thequestionnaire by students, data were analyzed by SPSS.Results: only 11.6 % of participants reported physical activity for at least 60minutes a day. Inert activities such as watching television or playing computergames for more than 2 hours during a typical day was reported by 531participants (55 %). Based on body mass index, 18.23 % of students were obeseand 13.22 % were overweight.Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the level ofstudents physical activities is low. Paying more attention to physical activity anddesigning curriculums that devote more hours for physical activities arerecommended. Encouraging physical activity in leisure time and providingproper facilities for adolescents are further suggestions.

Keywords:

Physical activity , Male students , GSHS