PHYSICAL FITNESS, BODY COMPOSITION, AND MOBILE HEALTH DESIGN NEEDS AMONG URBAN AND RURAL WOMEN IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) applications may expand access to physical-activity support, but their usefulness depends on the physical, social, and digital contexts of intended users. Evidence for women living in smaller urban and rural communities of Pakistan remains limited. This study compared anthropometric and field-based fitness profiles of urban and rural women in Bahawalnagar and interpreted the findings as design requirements for future mHealth physical-activity interventions. The study reported a quantitative cross-sectional comparison of 400 women (200 = urban and 200 = rural of 30-40 years of age. The source study used a structured health questionnaire, standardised anthropometry, and field fitness tests. Results showed that rural women were older by 1.88 years (p = .023), whereas urban women had a higher body mass index by 1.35 kg/m² (p = .003). Rural women had higher triceps, subscapular, iliac-crest, and front-thigh skinfold means (all adjusted q < .01). Results also showed that the rural women were superior in hand grip strength (g= 0.76), 30-second chair-stand repetition, and inferior in arm curls (g =-0.43) than the urban women. Future interventions therefore, focus on culturally appropriate designs and evaluate app engagement with objective physical-activity outcomes in prospective trials.