Research Impact: This systematic review examines the reported prevalence of sufficient physical activity among adults in Arab countries. While life expectancy in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has increased considerably over the past 50 years, the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is worrying. Supporting physically active lifestyles will form a key role in preventing and treating NCDs, and this requires an understanding of the context-specific challenges associated with this task across regions. Fifty studies involving 298,242 participants from 16 Arab countries were included in this review. High levels of variability among studies regarding the use of valid and reliable instruments, the definition of sufficient PA adopted and the scoring protocols used greatly influence the extent to which our research questions can be answered with certainty. Research implications are presented.
Murtagh, E., Shalash, A., Martin, R., & Abu Rmeileh, N. (2021). Measurement and prevalence of adult physical activity levels in Arab countries. Public Health, 198, 129-140. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.010
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