ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the physical activity and blood pressure of adults in Ikwuano local government area of Abia state. A cross sectional study was conducted among 439 adults from selected communities in Ikwuano Local Government Area using simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio demographic characteristics. Anthropometry (weight and height) were measured following standard procedures. Blood pressure was recorded using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer, while the physical activity was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). CHI-square was used to analyse the data. Significance was accepted at p>0.05. The Statistical Package for Service Solution (SPSS version 20) was used to analyze the data. The demographic/socio-economic characteristics of the participants showed that 49.9% of the participants reside in Amaoba, while 50.1% reside in Amawom. More than half (59.1%) of the participants were aged between 20-30 years. Slightly less than half (47.8%) of the population had a normal blood pressure (120/80mmHg). Very few (1.2%) of the participants had hypotension (<90/60mmHg), 24.2% of the participants had pre-hypertension (120-129/80-89mmHg). The overall prevalence of hypertension in this study was 26.8% (stage1 hypertension 15.4% and stage2 hypertension 11.4%). Less than half (23.8%) and 15.9% of the participants were overweight and obese, respectively. More than half (71.8%) of the participants did not meet WHO recommendation on physical activity for health, while 28.2% met the recommendation. In addition, the average time spent on sedentary behaviour was 5 hours, 26 minutes. From the study, there was no significant association found between physical activity status and blood pressure of the participants (p>0.05). The study showed that most of the participants were of normal blood pressure. Also, it was observed that majority of the participants were physically inactive. There is an urgent need for community-based interventions, to socially market the concept of a physically active lifestyle and to effectively control blood pressure in order to prevent hypertension due to unawareness.