title: Factors affecting participation decision and amount of physical activity among urban dwellers in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The rapid rise in the prevalence of physical inactivity-related diseases has become a serious public health issue worldwide. The objective of the present study is to examine the factors affecting participation in physical activity among urban dwellers in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study measures physical activity using a rigorous regression model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are obtained from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011 (NHMS 2011). A lognormal hurdle model is used to analyse the participation decision and the amount decision of physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that income, gender, ethnicity, marital status and employment status are significantly associated with participation decision and amount decision. However, age, insurance and self-rated health only affect participation decision, whereas family size, education and smoking only affect amount decision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It can, thus, be concluded that sociodemographic, insurance, lifestyle and health factors play an important role in determining physical activity behaviour among urban dwellers. When formulating policies, special attention must be paid to these factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Economics, Finance and Banking, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, UUM Sintok, 06010 Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia. Electronic address: cheahykang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Cheah
authors.affiliation: Centre for Burden of Disease Research, Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Bangsar, 50590 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: drazahadi@moh.gov.my.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azahadi
authors.affiliation: School of Government, College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, UUM Sintok, 06010 Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia. Electronic address: siewnooi@uum.edu.my.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Phang
authors.affiliation: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: hazilah@iium.edu.my.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hazilah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Age; Amount; Income; Participation; Physical activity; Urban