Physical activity and its impact on health status and risk of non-communicable diseases in Oman

Physical activity is widely recognized as one of the key health behaviors for maintaining good health status, en?hancing quality of life for all age groups and reducing the risk of diseases, especially the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetics, coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension and other diseases. The aim of this study are: (1) to examine the level and pattern of physical activities among the adult Omani people and identify the subgroup of physically inactive people; (2) to examine the association between levels of physical activity and self-rated health (SRH) status of Omani adults; and (3) to examine the association between level of physical activity and some selected non-communicable diseases like diabetics, coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension and cancer. The study will utilize data obtained from the 2008 World Health Survey (WHS) in Oman. Physical activity, self-rated health status and history of selected non-communicable diseases will be considered as dependent variables and socio-economic, demographic and behavioural health risk factors variables will be considered as independent or explanatory variables. Descriptive, inferential and multivariate statistical techniques such as logistic regression models will be used as analytical techniques for data analysis. The study findings may have important policy implications for the ministry of health of Oman.