Attitudes of Saudi Arabian students at different academic levels towards physical activity: An objective comparison

Background/Objectives: Physical inactivity prevalence in Saudi Arabia is high. This may be due to the attitude of Saudis toward physical activity. The objective of this study was to determine and compare attitudes towards physical activity of students of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals campus. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Students from high school, orientation year and college level who enrolled in a physical education course participated in this study. A total of 896 out of 900 male students completed "The Attitude towards Physical Activity Scale" questionnaire using a 5-point Likert Scale. The questionnaire was adapted to fit the Saudi population. Descriptive statistics was used to get the mean per aspect. Kruskal-Wallis H Test was used to compare between the groups. Findings: The aspect valued most by both high school and orientation year students was "health and fitness", whereas "meeting a physical challenge" aspect was ranked highest by college students. High school students had positive attitudes in all aspects of physical activity, while orientation and college students had positive attitudes in two and three aspects respectively. Overall, the high school students had the most positive attitude toward physical activity (P<0.05 vs. other student groups). This is one of the few studies which give a psychological view of what affects physical activity participation of Saudis. Applications/Improvements: Physical and health educators, university and public health committees can use these results to provide information, programs, and infrastructure for students to improve their attitudes towards physical activity.