The situation of physical activity and sedentary behavior in each regional health areas of Thailand

Abstract

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are significant risk factors for various non-communicable diseases. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of combined physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns in every regional health areas. We analyzed data from the nationally representative 2021 Health Behavior Survey conducted by the Thailand National Statistical Office. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was used. Participants were categorized into one of four movement patterns: highly active/low sedentary, highly active/highly sedentary, low active/low sedentary, and low active/highly sedentary. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with each group of four movement patterns. Among the 78,717 individuals included in the study, the majority of participants were categorized as being highly active/highly sedentary (54.6%). Living in regional health areas 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 had significantly higher likelihoods of belonging to this group compared to living in regional health area 1. This study showed a positive combined physical inactivity and sedentary behavior patterns among Thai adults. However, a significant proportion exhibits concerning habits.