Author(s): AL-HARBI, A., ALAHMADI, M.A., Institution: TAIBAH UNIVERSITY, Country: SAUDI ARABIA, Abstract-ID: 2252

Background:
In 2018, for the first time Saudi Arabia launched a new Sport Science and Physical Activity (SSPA) major for Saudi females at several Saudi Universities, including Taibah University in Madinah city, western Saudi Arabia. Evidence from studies strongly suggests that the amount of time being sedentary should be decreased. Just recently, the Arabic version of the Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) became available with acceptable levels of validity and reliability to assess sedentary behavior (SB) among Saudi males and females aged between 15 to 30 years old (Alahmadi, MA et al, 2023). Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the prevalence of SB and its patterns in a sample of SSPA female students at Taibah University in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology:
A sample of 109 female university students from the College of Education at Taibah University (mean ± standard deviation age of 21.7 ± 1.3 years) was recruited for this study. The original English version of the SBQ was previously translated into Arabic. Then, the validated Arabic version of the SBQ was used to assess SB. The Arabic SBQ included 9 types of SB (watching television, playing computer/video games, sitting while listening to music, sitting and talking on the phone, doing paperwork or office work, sitting and reading, playing a musical instrument, doing arts and crafts, and sitting and driving/riding in a car, bus or train) on weekdays and weekends. Descriptive statistics were reported as mean values and standard deviation. A paired t-test was used to compare SB between weekdays and weekends.
Results:
The total time of SB indicated by the Arabic SBQ was 677.8 ± 209.7 and 679.8 ± 244.0 (minutes/day) during weekdays and weekends, respectively. Overall, the average total sitting time of SBQ (min/day) was 483.5 ± 239.9 (min/day) and the majority of students (90%) spent ≥ 7 hours/day sitting. Sedentary time did not differ between weekdays and weekends (P= 0.91). Results also showed that, on average, participants dedicated most of their time during the weekday to completing office/paperwork (172.8 ± 108.3 minutes/day), followed by sitting and talking on the phone (161.5 ± 97.6 minutes/day) and reading (133.80 ± 109.8 minutes/day). The most time spent during the weekend was sitting and talking on the phone (173.9 ± 109.5 minutes/day) followed by completing office/paperwork (133.7 ± 99.4 minutes/day).
Conclusion:
It is concluded that the total mean length of SB in minutes/day for female students was considerably high. Our findings also highlight the need to raise awareness of the importance of adopting an active lifestyle and reducing time spent in SB.
References:
Alahmadi, M.A., Almasoud, K.H., Aljahani, A.H. et al. Validity and reliability of the Arabic sedentary behavior questionnaire among university students aged between 18–30 years old. BMC Public Health 23, 128 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15030-1