Physical activity and sedentary behaviour of primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

South African Family Practice

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Physical activity and sedentary behaviour of primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa
 
Creator Gomwe, Howard Seekoe, Eunice Lyoka, Philemon Marange, Chioneso S. Mafa, Dennyford
 
Subject Family medicine; general practice; rural health; rural medicine; primary care; primary health care children; learners; physical activity; sedentary behaviour; South Africa
Description Background: This study was designed to assess physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary behaviour amongst primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.Methods: A cross-sectional study was adopted to assess the patterns and levels of PA and sedentary behaviour using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). The sample consisted of primary school learners, both boys and girls, aged 9–14 years. The learners were randomly selected from rural, urban and peri-urban areas in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.Results: Using a complete case analysis, 870 randomly selected participants (boys = 351 and girls = 519) aged 9–14 years were retained. Overall, the sample had a low mean PAQ-C score of 2.33 ± 0.43. The mean of PA in boys was significantly higher (p = 0.003) in comparison with the girls. The 13- to 14-age group had significantly higher PA levels (p = 0.014). Learners from urban areas (n = 136; 77.3%) engaged more in sedentary behaviour compared to those from rural areas (n = 252; 54.9%).Conclusion: The findings demonstrated low levels of PA and high engagement of sedentary behaviour across the combined gender groups, which have negative implications on health, growth and development of children. The study, therefore, recommends relevant stakeholders to implement interventions aimed at promoting an increase in PA and a reduction in sedentary behaviours for primary school learners in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor The authors wish to thank the Medical Research Council (MRC) of South Africa and Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) for sponsoring this study.
Date 2022-03-22
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article Cross sectional quantitative
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/safp.v64i1.5381
 
Source South African Family Practice; Vol 64, No 1 (2022): Part 2; 8 pages 2078-6204 2078-6190
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5381/7259 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5381/7260 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5381/7261 https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5381/7262
 
Coverage South Africa 2017 Age, Gender, Residence
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Howard Gomwe, Eunice Seekoe, Chioneso Show Marange, Philemon Lyoka, Dennyford Mafa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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