The Comparison of Physical Activity Levels among School-age Adolescents in the Rural and Urban Areas of District Swat KPK, Pakistan- An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Background Obesity and overweight represent significant global public health concerns. Young adolescents are in particular increasingly experiencing obesity and overweight due to their sedentary lifestyles, excessive electronic media use, and lack of physical activity (PA). This trend is linked to the development of non-communicable diseases in later life. Moreover, data regarding the lack of PA is available in Pakistan, but a gap exists in the comparative analysis of physical activity levels between rural and urban adolescents. Rural and urban areas exhibit distinctions in both geographical settings and technological advancements, potentially influencing the PA levels of their respective inhabitants. Purpose The study aimed to compare physical activity levels among school-age adolescents in rural and urban areas of Swat, KPK, Pakistan. In addition, the study also aimed to explore how gender, age, grade, and school type influenced the PA levels of adolescents. Method A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out with a sample size of 287 school-age adolescents (aged 10 to 14 years) selected from 08 public and private middle schools in rural and urban areas of district Swat, KPK, Pakistan. The data about physical activity was collected using a researcher-administered questionnaire adapted from the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). In addition, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used for the analysis of data. Findings The mean PA score for rural adolescents was 3.65±0.38, whereas the mean PA score for urban adolescents was 2.22±0.47. Thus, there was a mean difference of 1.43 which was significant at 0.05 level of significance (t= 28.11, p value=<0.001). In addition, a significant difference between private and government school-age adolescents’ PA levels was found (t-value (3.73), df (285) p-value of (<0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference in PA levels in terms of gender and grade of adolescents. Further, a very low negative correlation was found (r = -0.1) between the age and PA scores of school-age adolescents. Conclusion Place of residence has an impact on the PA level of adolescents because the study found a significant difference in the mean PA levels of school-age adolescents in rural and urban areas. It is recommended to conduct future research to identify the factors that contribute to disparities in PA among adolescents residing in rural and urban areas.