decline in physical activity among iranian girl students aged 10 to 16 and the related factors

Background: physical activity provides extensive health benefits during adolescence; however, many adolescents do not achieve the recommended level of regular physical activity (rpa). the age-related declin in regular physical activity throughout adolescence has been documented in some studies in western countries but by our search, there has been no study in eastern countries. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the decline in rpa among iranian girl students aged 10 to 16 and the related factors. methods: this cross-sectional study included 1164 students who were selected via multi-stage random sampling in hamadan, iran, in 2015. they filled out a self-administered questionnaire. a number of 105 students out of the above-mentioned sample were selected randomly for using pedometers. the questionnaire included demographic variables, physical activity questionnaires (paqs), questions on height and weight measurements. join point regression, t-test, anova, and logistic regression were used to obtain pa decline age, associations, and odds ratio. results: the results showed that about 83% of the students did not engage in 60 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity (mvpa) per day. in addition, 46% of the students watched tv more than 2 hours/day. there was a significant association (p < 0.01) between rpa, parents’ support and demographic variables (age and mothers’ education). there was a steady decline in rpa from ages 10 to 16. annual percent change (apc) was -5.06. interest in rpa and access to facilities showed higher odds ratio for engaging in the recommended level of rpa. conclusions: this report showed rpa declined by age during adolescence in girl students. motivating students toward rpa and providing facilities to do rpa can prevent this problem.