Evaluation of Physical Activity Status among Yazd High School Students on the Model of the World Health Organization in 2015

Introduction: Physical activity and healthy eating at an early age are two key elements in prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. Therefore, regular physical activity is recommended to improve public health and to reduce the burden of diseases and medical costs in communities. The aim of this study was to determine the status of physical activity in Yazd high school students Methods: A total number of1018 male high school students participated in this cross-sectional study. They were permanent residents of Yazd city in the school year of 2015-2016. Multistage cluster classification and stratified sampling methods were applied to collect samples. A validated Persian standardized World Health Organization questionnaire (GSHS) was used as a data collection tool. After completing the questionnaire by students, data were analyzed by SPSS. Results: only 11.6 % of participants reported physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day. Inert activities such as watching television or playing computer games for more than 2 hours during a typical day was reported by 531 participants (55 %). Based on body mass index, 18.23 % of students were obese and 13.22 % were overweight. Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the level of studentsʹ physical activities is low. Paying more attention to physical activity and designing curriculums that devote more hours for physical activities are recommended. Encouraging physical activity in leisure time and providing proper facilities for adolescents are further suggestions.