Association between Physical Activity and Health Outcomes (High Body Fatness, High Blood Pressure) in NamibianAdolescents and Adult women
| dc.contributor.author | Nashandi, Hilde Liisa | en.ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Monyeki, Andries Makama | en.ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Reilly, John J | en.ZA |
| dc.contributor.researchID | 12621595 | en.ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-13T08:25:58Z | en.ZA |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | en.ZA |
| dc.description | Journal Article, Faculty of Health Sciences, Physical Activity Sport and Recreation (PhASRec)-- Potchefstroom Campus | en.ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Regular physical activity (PA) is known to promote the physical and mental health of children and adolescents and further prevent the development of health problems in adulthood. Information on body composition and PA is crucial for health promotion strategies and for epidemiological studies informing policies. However, there is limited data on the association between body composition and PA in Namibia. This dearth of published data is a significant shortcoming in the development of strategies and policies to promote PA in Namibia. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the association between PA as a dependent variable and independent variables such as high blood pressure and body fatness as measured by different methods (gold standard deuterium dilution, body mass index, mid upper arm circumference, and waist circumference). The study included 206 healthy adolescent girls aged 13-19 years and 207 young adult females aged 20-40 years from Windhoek, Namibia. PA was measured using the PACE+ questionnaire in adolescents, and the GPAQ questionnaire was used for adults. In adolescents, only 33% of the participants met the recommended guidelines for PA, compared to only 2% for adults. Nevertheless, the study found no statistically significant association between PA and blood pressure indices (p-value < 0.05) among adolescents and adults. However, there was a significant association between PA and high body fatness (p-value < 0.001) and waist circumference (p-value = 0.014) in adolescents. Among adults, PA was significantly related to waist circumference only. In conclusion, failure to meet recommended PA guidelines is strongly associated with abdominal obesity and high body fatness. The knowledge gained from this study may be used by policymakers in the development of strategic policies and interventions aimed at promoting PA as a public priority and improving health outcomes. | en.ZA |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Funding The main project was supported by a grant from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (NAM 6011). The funder had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article. Institutional Review Board Statement The study obtained ethics approval from Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) Ethical Research Committee (ethical number: 17/3/3/MV), and North-West University Health Research Ethics Committee (NWU-HREC) with ethics number: NWU (NWU–00017–23–A1). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the adult and adolescent females who participated in this study, their parents/guardians, schools’ administration and teachers, and the entire research team. The support from the Ministry of Health and Social services is much appreciated. Additionally, the first author is grateful for the Faculty of Health Sciences of the North-West University, South Africa for the opportunity to pursue a PhD study with them. The authors are also grateful to Matthew Chiwaridzo from University of Namibia for helping with the editing of the manuscript. | en.ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Monyeki, Andries Makama. et al. 2024. Association between Physical Activity and Health Outcomes (High Body Fatness, High Blood Pressure) in Namibian Adolescents and Adult women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, (2024), 21, 446, [https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph21040446] | en.ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph21040446 | en.ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10394/44025 | en.ZA |
| dc.language.iso | en | en.ZA |
| dc.publisher | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | Adolescent Girls | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | Adult Women | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | Anthropometry | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | Blood Pressure | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | High Body Fatness | en.ZA |
| dc.subject | Physical Activity | en.ZA |
| dc.title | Association between Physical Activity and Health Outcomes (High Body Fatness, High Blood Pressure) in NamibianAdolescents and Adult women | en.ZA |
| dc.type | Article | en.ZA |