Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior and Substance Use Among In-School Adolescents in Eight African Countries

  • Published:
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Physical inactivity leads to higher morbidity and mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases. In high income countries, studies have measured school population level physical activity and substance use, but comparable data are lacking from most African countries.

Purpose

To study the relationship between self-reported leisure time physical activity frequency and sedentary behavior and alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use behaviors among school children.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with the total sample of 24,593 school children aged 13 to 15 years from nationally representative samples from eight African countries. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between physical activity frequency, six measures of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, socioeconomic status, and mental health variables.

Results

In all, only 14.2% of the school children were frequently physically active (5 days and more in a week, at least 60 min/day) during leisure time; this was significantly higher among boys than girls. Ugandan and Kenyan school children were most physically active (17.7% and 16.0%, respectively), and Zambian and Senegalese the least (9.0% and 10.9%, respectively). Frequency of alcohol consumption and higher socioeconomic status were significantly associated with leisure time physical activity, while tobacco, illicit drug use, and mental health variables were not. Leisure time sedentary behavior of five and more hours spent sitting on a usual day were highly associated with all substance use variables.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that leisure time physical activity frequency is associated with frequency of alcohol use and not with tobacco and illicit drug use, and leisure time sedentary behavior is highly associated with alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among adolescents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Warburton DE, Nicol CW, Bredin SS. Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. CMAJ. 2006;174(6):801–9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Vindfeld S, Schnohr C, Niclasen B. Trends in physical activity in Greenlandic schoolchildren, 1994–2006. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2009;68(1):42–52.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kristjansson AL, Sigfusdottir ID, Allegrante JP, Helgason AR. Social correlates of cigarette smoking among Icelandic adolescents: a population-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2008;8:86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Tur JA, Puig MS, Pons A, Benito E. Alcohol consumption among school adolescents in Palma de Mallorca. Alcohol Alcohol. 2003;38:243–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Pate RR, Heath GW, Dowda M, Trost SG. Associations between physical activity and other health behaviors in a representative sample of US adolescents. Am J Public Health. 1996;86(11):1577–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Aaron DJ, Dearwater SR, Anderson R, Olsen T, Kriska AM, Laporte RE. Physical activity and the initiation of high-risk health behaviors in adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1995;27(12):1639–45.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Winnail SD, Valois RF, McKeown RE, Saunders RP, Pate RR. Relationship between physical activity level and cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana use among public high school adolescents. J Sch Health. 1995;65(10):438–42.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Moore MJ, Werch CE. Sport and physical activity participation and substance use among adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2005;36(6):486–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Moore MJ, Chudley E, Werch CE. Relationship between vigorous exercise frequency and substance use among first-year drinking college students. J Am Coll Health. 2008;56(6):686–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Korhonen T, Kujala UM, Rose RJ, Kaprio J. Physical activity in adolescence as a predictor of alcohol and illicit drug use in early adulthood: a longitudinal population-based twin study. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2009;12(3):261–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kujala UM, Kaprio J, Rose RJ. Physical activity in adolescence and smoking in young adulthood: a prospective twin cohort study. Addiction. 2007;102(7):1151–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ströhle A, Höfler M, Pfister H, Müller AG, Hoyer J, Wittchen HU, et al. Physical activity and prevalence and incidence of mental disorders in adolescents and young adults. Psychol Med. 2007;37(11):1657–66.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. CDC. The Global School and Health Survey background. http://www.cdc.gov/gshs/background/index.htm. Accessed 15 April 2009.

  14. Amosun SL, Reddy PS, Kambaran N, Omardien R. Are students in public high schools in South Africa physically active? Outcome of the 1st South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey. Can J Public Health. 2007;98(4):254–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. WHO Regional Office for Europe. Young people's health in context. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2001/2002 survey, Copenhagen, Denmark. http://www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html (2004). Accessed 3 November 2007.

  16. Roberts C, Tynjälä J, Komkov A. Physical activity. WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2004. p. 90–7.

  17. Gidlow CJ, Cochrane T, Davey R, Smith H. In-school and out-of-school physical activity in primary and secondary school children. J Sports Sci. 2008;26(13):1411–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Gouthon P, Falola JM, Aremou M, Dagba J, Tossou J, Legba J, et al. Comparison of physical activity among Beninese adolescents attending schools in rural, suburban and urban areas: physical education and health. AJPHERD. 2007;13(2):196–208.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Larsen HB, Christensen DL, Nolan T, Søndergaard H. Body dimensions, exercise capacity and physical activity level of adolescent Nandi boys in western Kenya. Ann Hum Biol. 2004;31(2):159–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Garnier D, Ndiaye G, Bénéfice E. Influence of urban migration on physical activity, nutritional status and growth of Senegalese adolescents of rural origin. Bull Soc Pathol Exot. 2003;96(3):223–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). State of world population 2007. New York: UNFPA; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Gidlow C, Johnston LH, Crone D, Ellis N, James D. A systematic review of the relationship between socio-economic position and physical activity. Health Educ J. 2006;65:338–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Chinn DJ, White M, Harland J, Drinkwater C, Raybould S. Barriers to physical activity and socioeconomic position: implications for health promotion. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1999;53:191–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Reddy SP, Panday S, Swart D, Jinabhai CC, Amosun SL, James S, et al. Umthenthe Uhlaba Usamila—the South African youth risk behaviour survey 2002. Cape Town: South African Medical Research Council; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Todd J, Currie D. Sedentary behaviour. WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2004. p. 98–109.

  26. Katzmarzyk PT, Church TS, Craig CL, Bouchard C. Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(5):998–1005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Jago R, Anderson CB, Baranowski T, Watson K. Adolescent patterns of physical activity differences by gender, day, and time of day. Am J Prev Med. 2005;28(5):447–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Sallis JF, Prochaska JJ, Taylor WC. A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;32(5):963–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Van Der Horst K, Paw MJ, Twisk JW, Van Mechelen W. A brief review on correlates of physical activity and sedentariness in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(8):1241–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Dugan SA. Exercise for preventing childhood obesity. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2008;19(2):205–16.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Kosti RI, Panagiotakos DB. The epidemic of obesity in children and adolescents in the world. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2006;14(4):151–9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Janssen I, Katzmarzyk PT, Boyce WF, Vereecken C, Mulvihill C, Roberts C, et al. Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns. Obes Rev. 2005;6(2):123–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Bauman A, Finegood DT, Matsudo V. International perspectives on the physical inactivity crisis—structural solutions over evidence generation? Prev Med. 2009;49:309–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Shiely F, MacDonncha C. Meeting the international adolescent physical activity guidelines: a comparison of objectively measured and self-reported physical activity levels. Ir Med J. 2009;102(1):15–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Rothman KJ, Greenland S. Causation and causal inference in epidemiology. Am J Public Health. 2005;95 Suppl 1:S144–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the World Health Organization (Geneva) for making the data available for analysis. I also thank the Ministries of Education and Health and the study participants for making the Global School Health Survey in the eight African countries possible. The governments of the respective study countries and the World Health Organization did not influence the analysis nor did they have influence on the decision to publish these findings.

Competing interests

None declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer

  2. Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health, Human Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X41, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer

Authors
  1. Karl Peltzer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karl Peltzer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Peltzer, K. Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior and Substance Use Among In-School Adolescents in Eight African Countries. Int.J. Behav. Med. 17, 271–278 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-009-9073-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-009-9073-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation