Physical Activity Screening Using IPAQ-SF Among Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Identifying Targets for Campus-Based Physiotherapy Health Promotion Programs in Guwahati

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity is a major cause of non-communicable ailments and musculoskeletal malfunction. Students are in a pivotal transition stage in their lives, during which inactive lifestyle tendencies are easily adopted as living patterns. There is no information on the level of activity in Guwahati, India, which prevents the development of specific physiotherapy interventions. Physiotherapists are important in health promotion and need baseline information to develop effective preventive programs.
Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 384 college students (177 males and 207 females) aged 18-25 years in Guwahati, Assam. Physical activity levels in terms of MET-minutes/week were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). The participants were grouped into low-moderate, and high-activity groups. This design provides a useful picture of physical inactivity in a population. IBM SPSS version 25.0 (chi-square tests and independent t-tests) was used to analyze the data and establish correlations with gender and age.
Results: The findings showed that 28.4% (n=109) of students were in the low activity category, hence considered insufficiently active and highly vulnerable to future health problems. Mostly (52.1%) were moderately active, and a small 19.5% were highly active. The statistical results indicated no significant difference in activity scores between males (1882.88 MET-min/week) and females (1872.19 MET-min/week), p=0.94. On the same note, there were no significant differences between age groups (p=0.36).
Conclusion: The risk of hypokinetic diseases and the need for intervention in the population of the college in Guwahati lies at about one-third. The absence of gender disparity suggests that physiotherapy health promotion programs can be implemented on campus without gender stratification. Ergo-education and exercise prescription should be the priority for physiotherapists in this "low activity" group to avoid future musculoskeletal burden.