Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries
Purpose: The aims of this study were to (a) describe gender inequalities in physical activity (PA) among adolescents from Global South countries, and (b) investigate the relationship between gender inequalities in PA and contextual factors, such as geographic region, human development index, gender...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Sport and Health Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254622000229 |
| _version_ | 1818477519816359936 |
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| author | Luiza Isnardi Cardoso Ricardo Andrea Wendt Caroline dos Santos Costa Gregore Iven Mielke Javier Brazo-Sayavera Asaduzzaman Khan Tracy L Kolbe-Alexander Inácio Crochemore-Silva |
| author_facet | Luiza Isnardi Cardoso Ricardo Andrea Wendt Caroline dos Santos Costa Gregore Iven Mielke Javier Brazo-Sayavera Asaduzzaman Khan Tracy L Kolbe-Alexander Inácio Crochemore-Silva |
| author_sort | Luiza Isnardi Cardoso Ricardo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: The aims of this study were to (a) describe gender inequalities in physical activity (PA) among adolescents from Global South countries, and (b) investigate the relationship between gender inequalities in PA and contextual factors, such as geographic region, human development index, gender inequality index, and unemployment rates. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey conducted in Global South countries between 2010 and 2020 among 13- to 17-year-old adolescents. Country-context variables were retrieved from secondary data sources (World Health Organization, World Bank, and Human Development Reports). PA was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire querying the number of days in the past week in which participants were physically active for a total of at least 60 min. PA absolute gender inequalities were evaluated by the differences in the prevalence between boys and girls, 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were estimated using the bootstrap method. Relative inequalities were obtained through Poisson regression. Meta-analyses with random effects were used to calculate pooled estimates of absolute and relative inequalities. Results: Based on 64 Global South countries/surveys, the prevalence of PA was 6.7 percentage points (p.p.) higher in boys than in girls, ranging from 0.5 p.p. in Afghanistan to 15.6 p.p. in Laos (I2= 85.1%). The pooled ratio for all countries showed that boys presented a PA prevalence 1.58 times higher than girls (95%CI: 1.47–1.70) on average. The highest absolute and relative inequalities were observed in high income countries. Countries with higher Human Development Index rankings and lower Gender Inequality Index rankings also presented greater gender differences. Conclusion: Given that girls are overall less active than boys across the globe, the findings of this study reinforce that macro- and micro-level changes should be actively sought if we aim to increase population levels of PA in adolescents and promote equity in PA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:38:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ba5ed20169042bba2adbe661a7093f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-2546 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:38:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Sport and Health Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ba5ed20169042bba2adbe661a7093f92022-12-22T01:54:05ZengElsevierJournal of Sport and Health Science2095-25462022-07-01114509520Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countriesLuiza Isnardi Cardoso Ricardo0Andrea Wendt1Caroline dos Santos Costa2Gregore Iven Mielke3Javier Brazo-Sayavera4Asaduzzaman Khan5Tracy L Kolbe-Alexander6Inácio Crochemore-Silva7Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS 96010-040, Brazil; Corresponding author.Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS 96010-040, BrazilUniversity of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 01153-000, BrazilSchool of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, AustraliaUniversity of the Republic, Montevideo, Montevideo 11200, UruguaySchool of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, AustraliaFederal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS 96010-040, BrazilPurpose: The aims of this study were to (a) describe gender inequalities in physical activity (PA) among adolescents from Global South countries, and (b) investigate the relationship between gender inequalities in PA and contextual factors, such as geographic region, human development index, gender inequality index, and unemployment rates. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey conducted in Global South countries between 2010 and 2020 among 13- to 17-year-old adolescents. Country-context variables were retrieved from secondary data sources (World Health Organization, World Bank, and Human Development Reports). PA was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire querying the number of days in the past week in which participants were physically active for a total of at least 60 min. PA absolute gender inequalities were evaluated by the differences in the prevalence between boys and girls, 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were estimated using the bootstrap method. Relative inequalities were obtained through Poisson regression. Meta-analyses with random effects were used to calculate pooled estimates of absolute and relative inequalities. Results: Based on 64 Global South countries/surveys, the prevalence of PA was 6.7 percentage points (p.p.) higher in boys than in girls, ranging from 0.5 p.p. in Afghanistan to 15.6 p.p. in Laos (I2= 85.1%). The pooled ratio for all countries showed that boys presented a PA prevalence 1.58 times higher than girls (95%CI: 1.47–1.70) on average. The highest absolute and relative inequalities were observed in high income countries. Countries with higher Human Development Index rankings and lower Gender Inequality Index rankings also presented greater gender differences. Conclusion: Given that girls are overall less active than boys across the globe, the findings of this study reinforce that macro- and micro-level changes should be actively sought if we aim to increase population levels of PA in adolescents and promote equity in PA.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254622000229AdolescentsGender differencesPhysical activitySocial inequalitiesStudents |
| spellingShingle | Luiza Isnardi Cardoso Ricardo Andrea Wendt Caroline dos Santos Costa Gregore Iven Mielke Javier Brazo-Sayavera Asaduzzaman Khan Tracy L Kolbe-Alexander Inácio Crochemore-Silva Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries Journal of Sport and Health Science Adolescents Gender differences Physical activity Social inequalities Students |
| title | Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries |
| title_full | Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries |
| title_fullStr | Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries |
| title_short | Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries |
| title_sort | gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 global south countries |
| topic | Adolescents Gender differences Physical activity Social inequalities Students |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254622000229 |
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