Cardiovascular Journal of Africa: Vol 30 No 5 (October 2019)

CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 30, No 5, September/October 2019

266

AFRICA

urban women in India had unhealthy physical activity levels

compared to rural women. Conversely, in the USA, a study

that examined urban–rural differences in physical activity found

that the differences that exist in physical activity behaviours

between rural and urban communities are largely to be expected.

Adesina,

and Mensik

et al

reported that the environment

impacts on the health and well-being of an individual. Alemu and

Lindjorn

reported that rural populations walked more often as

a means of transportation, and engaged in intense agricultural

activities and manual work as part of their employment. This

could also be said of rural-dwelling South Africans, who also

use walking as a means of transportation, and usually rely on

farming for their livelihoods.

In contrast to rural dwellers, the high prevalence and usage of

automobiles, telephones, mobile phones and household gadgets,

such as washing machines, significantly decreases the levels of

physical activity among urban dwellers.

Like most developing

countries, the rapid urbanisation of South Africa is associated

with physical inactivity, leading to the clustering of metabolic

risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

In this regard, urban environments are associated with high risks

for obesity, diabetes and CVD,

the so-called chronic diseases of

lifestyle. Consequently, urban populations should be targeted for

interventions in CVD prevention,

especially those that promote

physical activity.

Study limitations

A relatively small study sample size and the lack of objective

measures of physical activity contribute to the limitations of

the study. The lack of data on frequency of physical activity

(i.e. the number of days in which the participants engaged in

physical activity per week) limits us in determining whether the

participants met the recommended requirements of physical

activity to promote cardiovascular fitness. This study was

conducted in two specific settings in South Africa (Langa and

Mount Frere townships). Due to specific cultural, social and

psychological factors, extrapolation of the findings to other

geographical locations is limited.

Conclusion

Gender and geographical location were significant predictors of

physical activity. Overall, rural adults engaged more in physical

activity than urban participants. Males also engaged in more

physical activity than females and at higher intensities. Black

South African adults also engaged in a variety of physical

activities, including household chores, walking and gardening.

Furthermore, in terms of duration of physical activity per day

and intensity of physical activity, most rural participants met the

American College of Sports Medicine

recommendations for

adults and therefore were at minimal risk for developing CVD

compared to their urban counterparts. Designers of physical

activity interventions should consider gender and geographical

location when promoting physical activity through activities of

daily living. Physical activity interventions should particularly

target women and urban dwellers, as they were at an increased

risk for CVD. Physical activity interventions should also aim to

promote physical activity through engaging in activities of daily

living.

The authors acknowledge the following: the PURE study research teams

in South Africa, research participants, the School of Public Health and the

University of the Western Cape. We also acknowledge the DST-NRF Centre

of Excellence (COE) in Food Security and the National Research Foundation

of South Africa (NRF) for their support. The opinions, findings, conclusions

and recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and

the funders accept no liability whatsoever in this regard.

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