FACTORS INFLUENCING SCHOOL-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION AMONG EARLY ADOLESCENTS IN ETHIOPIA

Many studies have confirmed the health benefits of participating in physical activity during childhood and adolescence that are known to track into their adult lifespan. Therefore, the current research focused on exploring the level of physical activity and influencing factors among early adolescents. A cross-sectional study design was employed. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select schools and students. Eight hundred thirty-five students were recruited from 14 schools, grades five to eight, aged 11 to 14,with a mean age of 12.95 ±0.937 S.D. The PAQ-C and SEM measures were analyzed using IBM SPSS (Ver. 29).The findings were significantly correlated, and the internal consistency was acceptable (alpha = 0.828). Physical activity participation has a mean average score of 2.49 and t (833) = 7.465, with a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05. The results of this study demonstrated that participation in physical activity lowers in early adolescence, but levels remain higher in boys than girls. Furthermore, intrapersonal factors were more influential than other related factors. As a result, the studys findings revealed that early adolescents did not meet the minimum requirements of the WHO physical activity recommendation level to sustain a healthy lifestyle in the Gamo Zone, southern Ethiopia.