Abstract:

Background: Physical inactivity represents the non-achievement of physical activity guidelines which recommend that adults should do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity; or at least 75–150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity; or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week. Insufficient physical activity is the 4th leading risk factor for mortality and a major contributing factor in the growing problem of non-communicable diseases. Despite the known benefits of being physically active, research shows a significant decline in physical activity participation and an increase in sedentary behaviour among young adults. This study aims to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and associated factors among Undergraduate students at CUHAS.

Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted among undergraduate students at Catholic university of health and allied sciences in Nyamagana district Mwanza. A total of 333 students were selected by stratified random sampling for questionnaire filling. Data was collected by using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and analysed using SPSSS version 2.0. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics committee at Catholic University of health and Allied Sciences.

Results: The sample size included 333 study with the mean age of 23 years. The overall distribution of physical activities showed 20.7% (n= 69) were inactive while 79.3% (n= 264) were active among all participants. However, gender (x2=26.301, df=1, p-value =0.000), year of study (x2=10.106, df=4, p-value =0.039) and student’s course of study (x2=10.829, df=4, p-value 0.029) had statistical significant association with physical inactivity.

Conclusion: Less than one quarter of the students in the study were inactive and showed insufficient participation in physical activities. Several factors associated with physical inactivity were identified including gender, year of study and course of study. There is a need to promote health education on physical activities at CUHAS in-order to achieve WHO physical activity recommendations among all undergraduate students.