Physical activity level and the risk of subjective health complaints in female university students
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Date
2021
Authors
Razak, Norhanis Farina Abdul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Most studies that were conducted about physical activity (PA) did not focus on
its relationship with subjective health complaints (SHC) in the female university
student population. In this study, the objective was to investigate the association
between self-reported physical activity level and subjective health complaints in
female university students. The present study is a cross-sectional study involving 205
female students aged between 18-29 years old from the three Universiti Sains Malaysia
campuses: the Main Campus on the Island of Penang, the Health Campus in Kelantan,
and the Engineering Campus in Nibong Tebal. The self-reported PA level was
assessed using The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) version 2 and the
SHC was collected using a modified Adolescents and Surveillance System for The
Obesity Prevention-Personal Information Questionnaire (ASSO-PIQ) that assessed the
total score of eight common symptoms in the last six months, which consisted of
headache, stomach-ache, backache, feeling low, feeling irritable or bad-tempered,
feeling nervous or anxious, sleeping difficulties, and dizziness. A model of
demographic characteristics was tested to examine risk factors for SHC. By testing
using Pearson correlation, the results showed that the PA level was not associated in a
linear relationship with SHC in students. However, moderate recreation and sedentary
behaviour were associated in a linear relationship with SHC in students. As for
demographic characteristics, marital status and employment status were associated in
a linear relationship with SHC, whereby single students and unemployed students
show a high total score of SHC. In conclusion, PA level does not influence SHC in
students. Instead, marital status and employment were predictors of SHC. However,
associations between PA and SHC were less apparent, whereby future studies should
investigate the relationship between both variables in a diverse population and large
sample size.
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