Objectively Quantified Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in a Young UAE Population (November 2020)

There is a lack of public awareness of the importance of engaging in physical activity in many countries, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Nearly 58% of the UAE population is physically inactive, while the prevalence of overweight/obesity >70%. The aim of this study was to obtain the first dataset that objectively quantifies physical activity and sedentary behavior in young UAE adults. Following ethical approval, 140 university students participated in this study.

Results showed that both males and females spent high amounts of time in sedentary behavior, encompassing ~81% of waking hours. Physical activity was primarily in the light range (14.1%), although males spent significantly greater time in moderate/vigorous intensity activity. Moreover, 49% of males compared to 76.6% of females were classified as sedentary/ low active according to daily step counts. Comparing individuals in the “normal” versus the “overweight/obese” BMI cohort showed the volume of sedentary behavior was comparable. Our findings demonstrate that young UAE adults are highly sedentary, irrespective of gender and weight. Further research is needed to explore the correlates associated with physical activity to inform effective interventions in this "at-risk" population.

To attend the online talk, visit https://meet.google.com/qck-eqng-wtx.

About the Speaker
Dr. Sarah Dalibalta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences at American University of Sharjah. She earned a PhD in Cell Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Leicester, UK. She pursued her post-doctoral training at the University of Oxford, UK. Her research areas of interest lie in investigating cardiovascular disease and its many risk factors. She has expertise in a broad spectrum of electrophysiological recordings that she has used to study cardiovascular disorders such as Long QT syndrome as well blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia. More recently, she has been investigating health risks within the UAE population. Her teaching interests are in the areas of physiology, pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry. GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.ae/citations?user=b0-nwWYAAAAJ&hl=en

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