On June 3, 2008, at CRRC-Armenia premises Liana Hakobyan presented findings of her research entitlted “Prevalence of Physical Activity and Barriers to Physical Activity Among Yerevan Adult Population” conducted within CRRC Research Fellowship Program.

This cross-sectional telephone survey aimed to determine the prevalence of physical activity among adults in Yerevan, Armenia; to identify the association between physical activity and sociodemographic indicators (age, gender, education, occupation, income and marital status) as well as to reveal the major barriers and motivators to physical activity. The surveyed sample consisted of 369 men and women, aged 18-65 years old, speaking Armenian and living in Yerevan, Armenia.

Overall, 57% of the participants consider themselves as physically active people. There is a discrepancy between subjective perception of physical activity and objective level of activity: from those 194 people reported no activity or minimal activity, 48% are satisfied by their level of physical activity. Ms. Hakobyan has explored the extent of physical activity of adults in Yerevan, health risks that they face when they have sedentary life style, and barriers to physical activity. She has also developed approaches for an effective public health policy to improve the health status of adults.