Dataset Information

Effect of a WhatsApp walking trial on daily steps among female Saudi Arabian university students.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Physical inactivity in Saudi women is high, even among young women (60% of university students are physically inactive). We aimed to investigate the effect of a physical activity intervention on daily walking among female students at a Saudi university.

Methods

Two hundred and seven female students (mean age: 22.6 ± 1.3; body mass index: 24.6 ± 5.9) participated in a parallel-group randomized trial. The intervention group wore pedometers and received health-promotion messages for 12 weeks through WhatsApp^®; the control group received a similar number of messages unrelated to health. Average daily steps and self-reported activity were assessed at baseline and after 3 months. Analysis followed an intention-to-treat approach. Group differences in average daily steps were assessed using a two (group) by 2 (time) ANOVA. F-tests for main effects and the interaction were evaluated; P < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

There was a significant group-by-time interaction, that is, the intervention group had a significantly higher change in daily steps compared to the control group (+576 vs. -525; F = 4.33, P = 0.04). Self-reported daily activity was not significantly different by group.

Conclusions

The intervention was effective at improving the number of daily steps in young women. Future studies could test this intervention among other student groups.

SUBMITTER: Saquib J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9986880 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Effect of a WhatsApp walking trial on daily steps among female Saudi Arabian university students.

Saquib Juliann J Alhomaidan Homaidan T HT Al-Mohaimeed Abdulrahman A Aljaghwani Lujain L Al-Mohaimeed Raghad R Alghadhiyah Darren D Altwijri Raghad R Alazmi Amal Lafi AL Al-Mohaimeed Fatmah Ali FA Alhamed Ghadah Saleh GS Alsowiyan Asma Abdullah AA Alharbi Ashwaq Mohammed AM Saquib Nazmus N

International journal of health sciences 20230301 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Physical inactivity in Saudi women is high, even among young women (60% of university students are physically inactive). We aimed to investigate the effect of a physical activity intervention on daily walking among female students at a Saudi university.<h4>Methods</h4>Two hundred and seven female students (mean age: 22.6 ± 1.3; body mass index: 24.6 ± 5.9) participated in a parallel-group randomized trial. The intervention group wore pedometers and received health-promotion mes ...[more]

PMID: 36891045

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Dataset Information

Effect of a WhatsApp walking trial on daily steps among female Saudi Arabian university students.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Effect of a WhatsApp walking trial on daily steps among female Saudi Arabian university students.

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