title: Correlates of physical activity in adolescence: a study from a developing country.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physical activity is important for adolescent health. The current study aimed to explore factors that predict physical activity among adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study of physical activity among a sample of adolescents in Tabriz, Iran. Information on physical activity was collected using a modified version of the Adolescent Physical Activity and Recall Questionnaire (APARQ). In addition, a self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic characteristics, perceived family support, and self-efficacy. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between physical activity and independent variables including gender and psychosocial predictors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 402 students were studied. The mean age of adolescents was 12.93 (SD=0.49) years; 51.5% were female. The mean time of moderate and vigorous physical activity for all adolescents was 44.64 (SD=23.24) Metabolic Equivalent (MET) min per day. This figure for female adolescents was 38.77 (SD=19.94) MET min per day and for males it was 50.87 (SD=24.88) (P<0.001). The results obtained from multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that female gender (OR=2.59, 95% CI=1.46-4.57, P=0.001) and poor family support (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.03-1.20, P=0.038) were the most significant contributing factors to low level physical activity in adolescents. Other variables studied did not show any significant results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from the current study indicated that female adolescents were at risk of lower level of physical activity. In addition, it was found that the lack of family support represented an increased risk for low-level physical activity. It seems that family support should be an integrated part of any health education/promotion programs for improving physical activity among young adolescents in general and for female adolescents in particular.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Behjat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shokrvash
authors.forename: Fereshteh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Majlessi
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montazeri
authors.forename: Saharnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedjat
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi
authors.forename: Abolgasem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djazayeri
authors.forename: Davoud
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shojaeezadeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015444:Exercise; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Asia; Iran; adolescent health; family support; physical activity