Volume 28, Issue 152, October 2024

The relation of physical activity on the academic performance among students in Taif University in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Khalid Mohsen Aljuaid^1,2, Ibrahim Saeed Aljulaymi^2♦

¹Department of Physical Therapy, Alnahda general hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia
²Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding Author
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Exercise is thought to be an important component that has a major effect on academic achievement. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with the students of Taif University. Demographic information was collected along with physical activity levels as self-reported with the Arabic short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and academic performance was assessed using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASE). Results: A total of 385 valid responses were gathered—of which 30.4% were female and 69.6% were male. Applied health sciences technology was the most frequent college, with 71 participants (18.4%), followed by the faculty of medicine, which had 69 participants (17.9%). The average age was 22.3 years, with a 0.4 standard deviation. According to our data, 75.58% of the individuals engaged in high physical activity, compared to 11.43% and 12.99% for moderate and low physical activity, respectively. Each of the following factors showed a statistically significant difference: Academic year, BMI, residing region, and college. Moreover, there is a slight statistically favorable correlation between ASE scores and physical activity categories, yet there is no significant correlation between ASE scores and college. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between gender and ASE scores, indicating that women generally had higher ASE values than men. Conclusion: This study shows a relationship between university students' physical activity levels and academic success. Future longitudinal studies might more precisely examine whether or not children's academic performance and cognitive function could actually be enhanced by more physical activity.

Keywords: Academic performance (AP); physical activity (PA); university student; Saudi Arabia.

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e132ms3450

PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i152.e132ms3450

Published: 30 October 2024