Physical Activity

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity is any activity that

requires muscoskeletal movements and consumes energy. It includes walking, climbing stairs,

playing, washing dishes and so on. The term ‘physical activity’ is often confused with exercise

which is a subcategory of it and involves planned, structured and repetitive movements to

maintain or improve physical fitness. Physical activity is one of the most important aspects of

healthy lifestyle and the lack of it is a leading cause of death worldwide. It has various health

benefits ranging from physical fitness to mental and emotional wellbeing (WHO, 2018).

The people who engage in regular and adequate level of physical activity tend to have a

longer and healthier life than the people who have a sedentary lifestyle. Being physically active

facilitates the weight management and reduces the risks associated with obesity such as Type 2

diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. It improves the bones and muscle health by

strengthening them through movement and lowers the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Physically active people tend to have lower blood pressure, lower level of cholesterol, and better

cardiorespiratory health which decreases the possibility of heart attack. Apart from these,

physical activity enhances mental health by fighting depression and stress, blocking negative

thoughts and uplifting mood and sleep patterns. It happens due to the ability of physical activity

to balance the hormones in the body (Warburton et al., 2006). WHO recommends 150 minute of

moderate-intensity or 75 minute of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week. However,

almost 80% of the world’s adolescent population fails to meet these levels (WHO, 2018).

Coming to the state of physical activity and its development in Saudi Arabia, majority of

the males, females and children are physically inactive falling behind the recommended levels of
activity. In the past, the needs and demands of everyday life and work were enough to meet the

standards of an active lifestyle. However, the recent changes in the lifestyle and rapid

urbanization along with lack of awareness about the importance of physical activity have led to

the sedentary lifestyle. There have not been many gyms or physical activity centers in the past

with specifically low acceptance of women’s physical healthcare centers. Nonetheless, there has

been an increase in the gyms and yoga centers around the kingdom (DeNicola et al., 2015).

Women’s physical education has been considered a taboo for a long time in the ultraconservative

Saudi society in which sports are believed as anti-feminism and against the nature of women (Al-

Eisa and Al-Sobayel, 2012). Recently the debate around the importance of Physical activity and

education has become intense leading to the introduction of Physical Education for girls in the

schools in the public schools along with private schools (Hubbard, 2017).

Food and Physical Activity

There is a strong link between food and physical activity. Food provides energy which is

required for physical activity while being physically active you consume the energy produced by

food. A healthy body weight is maintained when the energy consumption in daily activities such

as breathing and sleeping along with physical activity is equal to the energy produced by the

food (Sallis and Glanz, 2009). Therefore, the people who indulge in higher level of physical

activity may have a higher nutritional requirement than the people with sedentary lifestyle. It can

be said that an ‘energy balance’ is required to manage healthy weight (Oppert and Charreire,

2012).

Apart from the apparent link between food and physical activity, the food

nutrients play a significant role in ensuring a healthy body and weight. There are various food

groups including carbohydrates, fats and proteins that provide energy to the body which is then
consumed in the physical activity. A balanced diet is required to provide all types of

micronutrients and macronutrients to the body with minerals and vitamins. Eating a balanced diet

means including the recommended portions of each food group in your diet and it can positively

impact the physical activity performance of the body. For example, fruits and vegetables are rich

sources of carbohydrates while the meat and legumes are great sources of proteins. The fats can

be consumed in the form of oil and butter (HealthLink).

Moreover, there is a lot of variety within each food group which means that one can get

the balanced diet from different sources. It means that instead of consuming food groups from

few sources, one should eat wide variety of foods to get all nutrients. Eating in moderation i.e.

eating everything in small or recommended quantity is the key to remain physically active and to

have a healthy body weight. Another important link between physical activity and food is to

balance the calorie count of the body. The higher level of physical activity may require higher

calorie count but as the weight drops, the body’s calorie count changes. So, it is important to

monitor and reevaluate the calorie count for physical activity regularly (GirlsHealth, 2019).

Lastly, people with intense level of physical activity such as athletes and sportsmen have

special dietary requirements which may not be fulfilled by eating regular food. In this case, they

take dietary supplements to fulfill body’s requirement (GirlsHealth, 2019).

References:

AL-EISA, E. S. & AL-SOBAYEL, H. I. 2012. Physical activity and health beliefs among Saudi
women. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2012.
DENICOLA, E., ABURIZAIZA, O. S., SIDDIQUE, A., KHWAJA, H. & CARPENTER, D. O.
2015. Obesity and public health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Reviews on
environmental health, 30, 191-205.
GIRLSHEALTH. 2019. Foods and drinks for physical activity [Online]. Available:
https://www.girlshealth.gov/fitness/food/index.html [Accessed Oct 30 2019].
HEALTHLINK. Nutrition and Physical Activity [Online]. Available:
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/ta1294 [Accessed Oct 30 2019].
HUBBARD, B. 2017. Saudi Arabia to Offer Physical Education Classes for Girls. The New York
Times, July 11.
OPPERT, J.-M. & CHARREIRE, H. 2012. The importance of the food and physical activity
environments. Obesity Treatment and Prevention: New Directions. Karger Publishers.
SALLIS, J. F. & GLANZ, K. 2009. Physical activity and food environments: solutions to the
obesity epidemic. The Milbank Quarterly, 87, 123-154.
WARBURTON, D. E., NICOL, C. W. & BREDIN, S. S. 2006. Health benefits of physical
activity: the evidence. Cmaj, 174, 801-809.
WHO. 2018. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
[Accessed Oct 25 2019].