Physical Activities and Incidence of Obesity among Adolescent in Medan, Indonesia
BACKGROUND: Obesity is a common problem among adolescents. The incidence of obesity is related to daily living activities. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between physical activity and obesity among adolescents. METHODS: This research was a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in September 2017 until June 2018 at Junior High School in Medan, Indonesia. The sample of this study consisted of 114 adolescents with consecutive sampling. The study instruments measured four things in obesity indicators that are: Weight scales, microtoise for body height, body mass index, and physical activity questionnaire for older children. The value validity test value of content validity index 1. Cronbach’s alpha reliability tested to value 0.88. The data areanalyzed using the Chi-square statistical test. RESULTS: The result showed that the adolescents whodid a moderate physical activity as many as 71 respondents (62.30%), mild physical activity as many as 35 respondents (30.70%), and heavy physical activity as many as eightrespondents (7.00%). The incidence of obesity in this study showed that 80 (70.20%) of respondents were not qualified as obese and 34 (29.80%) respondents were obese. There was a correlation between physical activity and obesity among adolescents withp = 0.00 (p <0.05). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the importanceof physical activityassessmentsby the students for the early detection of obesity risk in the future. In addition, it is need to provide health education to adolescents about the importance of daily physical activity with routine activities, such as exercises and sports.