Table 3.
The frequency of Saudi men and women reporting barriers for low physical activity and unhealthy eating habits in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| Factors | Men n = 968 (%) |
Women n = 2029 (%) |
p-Value * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical activity | |||
| No motivation to do physical activity | 309 (31.9) | 674 (33.2) | 0.5 |
| Don’t enjoy physical activity | 260 (26.9) | 520 (25.6) | 0.5 |
| Lack of appropriate skills to do physical activity | 295 (30.5) | 495 (24.4) | <0.001 |
| No family support to do physical activity | 309 (31.9) | 466 (23.0) | <0.001 |
| No friend/colleague support to do physical activity | 355 (36.7) | 363 (17.9) | <0.001 |
| No family/ children support to do physical activity | 306 (31.6) | 380 (18.7) | <0.001 |
| No time because of family commitments | 368 (38.0) | 737 (36.3) | 0.3 |
| No information on physical activity | 299 (30.9) | 343 (16.9) | <0.001 |
| No access to places to do physical activity | 299 (30.9) | 653 (32.2) | 0.5 |
| No facilities that are affordable for physical activity | 254 (26.2) | 541 (26.7) | 0.8 |
| No time to do physical activity because of job | 389 (40.2) | 617 (30.4) | <0.001 |
| Feel self-conscious/shy doing exercise in front of others | 140 (14.5) | 211 (10.4) | 0.001 |
| Not able to do physical activity because of weather | 394 (40.7) | 400 (19.7) | <0.001 |
| Not able to do physical activity because of culture | 275 (28.4) | 340 (16.8) | <0.001 |
| Healthy eating | |||
| Not motivated to eat a healthy diet | 313 (32.3) | 450 (22.2) | <0.001 |
| Don’t enjoy eating healthy food | 335 (34.6) | 504 (24.8) | <0.001 |
| Don’t have the skills to prepare or cook healthy foods ** | - | 267 (13.2) | <0.001 |
| No spouse/family support to eat a healthy diet | 296 (30.6) | 290 (14.3) | <0.001 |
| No family/ children support to eat a healthy diet ** | 308 (31.8) | 365 (18.0) | <0.001 |
| No friend/colleague support to eat a healthy diet | 377 (38.9) | 274 (13.5) | <0.001 |
| Not enough information about a healthy diet | 366 (37.8) | 318 (15.7) | <0.001 |
| No access to healthy foods | 388 (40.1) | 262 (12.9) | <0.001 |
| Not able to afford healthy foods | 385 (39.8) | 186 (9.2) | <0.001 |
| No time to prepare or eat healthy foods because of job | - | 384 (18.9) | 0.03 |
| No time to prepare or eat healthy foods because of family commitments | - | 323 (15.9) | <0.001 |
*p value denotes whether there is a difference in frequency of reported barrier between men and women; **Questions asked of married women only.