Alarmingly Low Physical Activity in Pakistani College Students Compared to American College Students

Abstract

There are no studies that have investigated the physical activity (PA) trends in Pakistan, the 5 th most populated country in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify trends and differences in PA between intercollegiate students in Pakistan and the US. Three hundred (167 US; 133 Pakistani) intercollegiate students completed a cross-sectional survey used to gauge the PA levels, barriers, and literacy of intercollegiate students in both countries. American students are more likely (í µí±¥ 2 =97.27, p-value <.001) to be moderate to highly physically active in comparison to Pakistani students. American female students were more (í µí±¥ 2 =97.27, p-value <.001) active than female students in Pakistan. Independent t-test showed significantly more major barriers to PA in Pakistani intercollegiate students (6.860 ± 5.56) when compared to American intercollegiate students (3.78 ± 3.94). Out of all students 59.6%, regardless of nationality, correctly recounted the standard PA recommendations, with 1.2% of those students being Pakistani. Pakistani students were physically inactive, faced more barriers, and had lower literacy of PA. This is a novel yet extremely valuable data set for understanding the current trends in the PA status of college students in the fifth most-populated country, 60% of which is younger than 30 years of age.