Determinants of physical activity among community-dwelling adults in Ghana

Objectives: To examine the association between physical activity (PA) and knowledge of PA recommendations, sociodemographic, and behavioural characteristics among adults attending the outpatient department of a secondary health facility.
Design: Cross-sectional using a multi-stage sampling method.
Setting: Outpatient department of a secondary health facility.
Participants: Adults aged 18 years and older attending the outpatient department of a secondary health facility.
Main outcome Measures: Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ)
Results: Of 480 participants, the majority were females (57.7%), had a healthy weight (63.3%), were unmarried (44.6%), and had at least one child (58.5%). Less than half of the participants were in the pre-contemplation stage (30.8%), had adequate knowledge of physical activity recommendations (17.1%), and met recommended physical activity levels (46.3%). Females (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.40, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.24-0.67, p < 0.001), older adults (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.08-0.64, p = 0.005), people with high sedentary behaviour (OR = 0.47, 95%CI = 0.22-0.95, p = 0.036) and people in the pre-contemplation stage (reference) were less likely to engage in physical activity.
Conclusions: Engaging in physical activity is strongly influenced by age, gender, sedentary behaviour, and stages of behaviour change. These determinants should be considered in interventions for promoting physical activity among community-dwelling adults.