A Survey on Daily Activity Inclination and Health Complaints among Urban Youth in Malaysia

• Published in: Journal of Environmental and Public Health
• Main Author: Chen A.-H.; Rosli S.A.; Hovis J.K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2020
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85098080556&doi=10.1155%2f2020%2f9793425&partnerID=40&md5=2c2b0149e5d4137b022532614b0a6f28

Environmental influence is one of the attributing factors for health status. Chronic interaction with electronic display technology and lack of outdoor activities might lead to health issues. Given the concerns about the digital impact on lifestyle and health challenges, we aimed to investigate the daily activity inclination and health complaints among the Malaysian youth. A self-administered questionnaire covering lifestyle and health challenges was completed by 220 youths aged between 16 and 25. There were a total of 22 questions. Seven questions inspected the patterns of indoor and outdoor activities. Fifteen questions focused on the visual and musculoskeletal symptoms linked to both mental and physical health. The total time spent indoors (15.0 ± 5.4 hours/day) was significantly higher than that spent outdoors (2.5 ± 2.6 hours/day) (t = 39.01, p<0.05). Total time engrossed in sedentary activities (13.0 ± 4.5 hours/day) was significantly higher than that in nonsedentary activities (4.5 ± 3.8 hours/day) comprised of indoor sports and any outdoor engagements (t = 27.10, p<0.05). The total time spent on electronic related activities (9.5 ± 3.7 hours/day) was were higher than time spent on printed materials (3.4 ± 1.6 hours/day) (t = 26.01, p<0.05). The association of sedentary activities was positive in relation to tired eyes (χ2 = 17.58, p<0.05), sensitivity to bright light (χ2 = 12.10, p<0.05), and neck pain (χ2 = 17.27, p<0.05) but negative in relation to lower back pain (χ2 = 8.81, p<0.05). Our youth spent more time in building and engaged in sedentary activities, predominantly electronic usage. The health-related symptoms, both visual and musculoskeletal symptoms, displayed a positive association with a sedentary lifestyle and a negative association with in-building time. © 2020 Ai-Hong Chen et al.