A Meta-Analysis of College Students' Physical Activity Behaviors

Abstract

The authors reviewed studies on college students' physical activity (PA) behaviors and found that previous research on this topic focused on describing college students' PA patterns and their determinants. Researchers reported that about 40% to 50% of college students are physically inactive. More important, health and PA professionals in higher education have not been able to effectively increase students' PA behaviors. Interventions to promote students' PA are still at an early stage and have only produced moderate effects. The authors found primary problems with the current research on this topic to be 3-fold: (1) college students' PA has been seriously neglected as a research topic, (2) there is a lack of multiple-level approaches (ie, personal, psychosocial, and environmental levels) for examining PA behaviors in the college student population, and (3) measures of PA are subjective and inconsistent, which makes comparisons of PA patterns among different samples very difficult or impossible.

Student Activity and Sport Study Ireland: Protocol for a Web-Based Survey and Environmental Audit Tool for Assessing the Impact of Multiple Factors on University Students’ Physical Activity (Preprint)

“…Additionally, the protocol allows the evaluation of the 'actual' environment provided by universities and their influence on students' PA behaviours. This has the potential to eliminate the gap in the literature regarding the association of the physical environment with PA engagement in students [10,15,41]. The data collection tools developed can be used to evaluate existing university provision for PA and measure change in that provision; interrogate and inform the future research agenda and in addition provide a platform for the pooling and harmonisation of data collected.…”

“…In the general population, PA is an important factor for the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular heart diseases and type-2 diabetes mellitus [7,8]. Although the PA behaviours of children and adults across the globe are well documented [9], university students' PA behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes and how these are formed and reinforced during their university experience, particularly in representative or random samples requires further research [10].…”

“…peer support, recreational PA opportunities etc.) factors are associated with adults and students' PA behaviours [10,13]. Personal and behavioural factors relating to PA are much better understood, with research neglecting the examination of the physical environment [10,14,15].…”

“…factors are associated with adults and students' PA behaviours [10,13]. Personal and behavioural factors relating to PA are much better understood, with research neglecting the examination of the physical environment [10,14,15]. Research is needed to determine and better understand how the environment within which individuals spend time might act to enhance or constrain PA [15].…”

College students’ perceptions of a caring climate in group physical activity classes

“…We chose enjoyment, connectedness, and attitudes toward class, classmates, and instructors as the indicators of optimal engagement. Enjoyment has been recognized as an important determinant of physical activity in college students [8,28]. Connectedness is a key protective factor in late adolescence [38] and has been inversely linked to depression in college students [3], but remains unexplored in relation to physical activity in college students.…”