scholarly journals Influence of the Built Environment on Physical Activity Choices among Emirati Male and Female Adolescents: An Examination of Parents’ and Students’ Perceptions

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Praveen Maghelal ◽  
Khaled Alawadi ◽  
Sudha Arlikatti ◽  
Abeer Wahdain
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Human Development ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Male And Female

The UN Human Development Report 2020 ranked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as having achieved ‘very high human development’ and as being at the 31st position among all countries. Despite this, the ever increasing obesity rates among Emirati youth, higher than international standards, is alarming. This research aims at identifying how different perceptions of the built environment by parents and adolescents are likely to affect physical activity (PA) choices among male and female Emirati youth. This can help inform better health and education policies to achieve three of the interconnected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely good quality health and well-being, quality education, and gender equality, that the UAE strives to achieve. Responses from 335 students (aged 14–20) from six schools and 250 parent responses in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi Emirate were used to understand the mean variation in perception of five built environment constructs. Further, multinomial logit regression was used to assess the health condition using the perception, behavior, and built environment measures. Results indicate that Emirati males perceive the built environment factors as barriers more than female adolescents. Parents perceive street crossing (p < 0.016) and sidewalk characteristics (p < 0.020) to be more of a hindrance. Traffic exposure, self-reported physical activity, and walkability near homes and schools significantly affect Emirati adolescents’ health conditions. Recommendations are made for various stakeholders including parents, school authorities, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Transportation, and the Urban Planning department on ways to enhance the built environment and encourage PA and well-being of Emirati adolescents.

scholarly journals Gender Difference in Health Condition Among Emirati Adolescent: Role of Environment and Parent Perceptions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Maghelal ◽  
Khaled Alawadi ◽  
Abeer Wahdain
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Planning Department ◽  
Walking To School

Abstract Background: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the developed nations in the middle-east with the obesity rate among the youth two to three times greater than the international standards. Therefore, this research aims to study the variation of perception of the built environment among Emirati male and female adolescents and their parents. Also, the role of determinants of the health condition of Emirati adolescents is analyzed. Method: A total of 335 students (aged 14-20) from six schools in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi Emirate and 250 parent responses were used to conduct the mean-test of perception of hindrances and multinomial logit of the health condition using the perception, behavior and built environment measures. Results: Emirati males perceive the built environment factors as barriers more than female adolescents. Parents perceive street-crossing (p<0.016) and sidewalk characteristics (p<0.020) to be more of a hindrance to walking to school than students. Traffic exposure and walkability at home and schools report a significant effect on the health condition of the Emirati adolescents along with the self-reported physical activity. Marginal effect reports sedentary and low-levels of activity predicts the probability of an Emirati adolescent being not just overweight or obese (p<0.001), but also underweight (p<0.05)Conclusion: Recommendations for parents and school authorities, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Urban Planning department, and to enhance the built environment are discussed. Also recommendation to address both, levels of obesity and being underweight, are discussed.

Impact of an intervention program to improve well-being of residents in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Bushra Al Ghailani ◽  
Mouza Al Nuaimi ◽  
Asma Al Mazrouei ◽  
Eiman Al Shehhi ◽  
SalemA Beshyah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Abu Dhabi

Physical Activity: An Underestimated Investment in Human Capital?

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bailey ◽  
Charles Hillman ◽  
Shawn Arent ◽  
Albert Petitpas
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Capital Growth ◽  
To Come ◽  
Healthy Functioning ◽  
The Life Course

Despite the fact that physical activity is universally acknowledged to be an important part of healthy functioning and well-being, the full scope of its value is rarely appreciated. This article introduces a novel framework for understanding the relationships between physical activity (and specifically sport-related forms of physical activity) and different aspects of human development. It proposes that the outcomes of physical activity can be framed as differential ‘capitals’ that represent investments in domain-specific assets: Emotional, Financial, Individual, Intellectual, Physical, and Social. These investments, especially when made early in the life course, can yield significant rewards, both at that time and for years to come. The paper presents a new model—the Human Capital Model—that makes sense of these effects, outlines the different capitals, and briefly articulates the conditions necessary for the realization of Human Capital growth through physical activity.

3-day Physical Activity Recall In Male And Female Adolescents

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. S431
Author(s):  
Christina M. Beaudoin ◽  
Janet Whatley Blum ◽  
Rachel Devore ◽  
Lori Kaley ◽  
Debra Wigand
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Physical Activity Recall

scholarly journals Use of social media, search queries, and demographic data to assess obesity prevalence in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Cesare ◽  
Pallavi Dwivedi ◽  
Quynh C. Nguyen ◽  
Elaine O. Nsoesie
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Environment Variables ◽  
Google Search

Abstract Obesity is a global epidemic affecting millions. Implementation of interventions to curb obesity rates requires timely surveillance. In this study, we estimated sex-specific obesity prevalence using social media, search queries, demographics and built environment variables. We collected 3,817,125 and 1,382,284 geolocated tweets on food and exercise respectively, from Twitter’s streaming API from April 2015 to March 2016. We also obtained searches related to physical activity and diet from Google Search Trends for the same time period. Next, we inferred the gender of Twitter users using machine learning methods and applied mixed-effects state-level linear regression models to estimate obesity prevalence. We observed differences in discussions of physical activity and foods, with males reporting higher intensity physical activities and lower caloric foods across 40 and 48 states, respectively. In addition, counties with the highest percentage of exercise and food tweets had lower male and female obesity prevalence. Lastly, our models separately captured overall male and female spatial trends in obesity prevalence. The average correlation between actual and estimated obesity prevalence was 0.797(95% CI, 0.796, 0.798) and 0.830 (95% CI, 0.830, 0.831) for males and females, respectively. Social media can provide timely community-level data on health information seeking and changes in behaviors, sentiments and norms. Social media data can also be combined with other data types such as, demographics, built environment variables, diet and physical activity indicators from other digital sources (e.g., mobile applications and wearables) to monitor health behaviors at different geographic scales, and to supplement delayed estimates from traditional surveillance systems.

scholarly journals Parental Factors Associated with Obesity in Korean Adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 5126
Author(s):  
Heun Keung Yoon ◽  
Gwang Suk Kim ◽  
Suhee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Physical Activity Level ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Adolescent Obesity ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Parental Factors ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Overweight Status ◽  
Parental Characteristics

Parental characteristics can influence adolescent obesity. However, the influence of parental characteristics on obesity may differ depending on the adolescent’s sex. This study evaluated parental characteristics that were associated with obesity in male and female adolescents. This study involved the secondary data analysis of cross-sectional survey data that were collected from June to September 2015. The study subjects included 1621 eighth-grade students. The study variables included sex, age, body mass index, household income, parental weight, parental perceptions of the child’s body, parental lifestyle, and parental social support for healthy eating and physical activity. The association between parental factors and adolescent obesity was analyzed via logistic regression analysis for each sex. Among male students, the fathers’ and mothers’ overweight status, fathers’ underestimation and overestimation of male adolescent weight, mothers’ dietary habits, and the mothers’ physical activity level were identified as obesity-associated factors. Among female students, the mothers’ overweight status, underestimation of female adolescent weight by fathers, dietary habits, and the physical activity level of fathers were significantly associated with adolescent obesity. The mothers’ overweight status and the underestimation of weight by fathers were strongly associated with obesity in male and female adolescents. Parental involvement in obesity-intervention programs could help prevent adolescent obesity.

3-day Physical Activity Recall In Male And Female Adolescents

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. S431
Author(s):  
Christina M. Beaudoin ◽  
Janet Whatley Blum ◽  
Rachel Devore ◽  
Lori Kaley ◽  
Debra Wigand
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Physical Activity Recall
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