An all-Poland survey of physical activity and sedentary lifestyles for middle school, high school and university students

Abstract

Introduction: Most countries have witnessed an increasingly sedentary lifestyle in recent decades. Experts estimate that only one third of adolescents undertake sufficient physical activity to guarantee normal physical, mental and emotional development. Study aims: To determine the frequency of PE (Physical Education) lessons as well as after-school movement activities and sedentary behaviour. To establish the association between physical activity, TV watching and computer use (screen time) with the risks of overweight and obesity in students. Material and methods: A survey of 3,548 middle school students, 4,423 from high school and 5,595 university students was performed in 2011. In the former two groupings, the questionnaire had been devised by Poland's GIS (Chief Sanitary Inspectorate), based on one previously employed for WHO global school-based student health survey (GSHS) studies. The university students used an electronic questionnaire made available on an internet site from Lublin, Poland. Results: Half the middle and high school students undertook 2 to 5 hours of physical activity per week, while only 16% of university students did so. In their free time after school, one quarter of middle and high school students engaged in selected sporting activities, usually for one hour each week. Of the university students, 84% did not undertake any movement activities at all. Excessive body mass was most frequently found in students spending 3 to 4 hours per day watching TV or using computers. Conclusions: Students, in particular at the university level, demonstrated a somewhat poor commitment to undertaking PE lessons or other movement activities, whilst focusing mainly on sedentary activities.

Physical activity as an important element in organizing and managing the lifestyle of populations in urban and rural environments

“…Due to the co-existing degenerative changes of the motor system, the recommended form of exercise for the obese are 'relief exercises' (i.e. exercises in water, riding a bicycle), which do not place direct pressure on the joints of the lower limbs [42,43,44,45,46,47].…”

The Perspective Projects Promoting Sustainable Mobility by Active Travel to School on the Example of the Southern Poland Region

“…Questionnaire results presented by Bergier et al [25] show that Eastern European adolescents have positive attitudes towards their health regarding their level of physical activity and mobility, with boys being more active than girls. As Wojtyła-Buciora et al [26] show, it is sometimes a matter of distance and time. The results of the survey show that active commuting (AC) was undertaken by 41% of middle school teenagers and 36% of high school teenagers when walking to school for up to 20 min a day, and by bicycle, only 5% and 3%, respectively.…”

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“…The impact of physical exercise on mental health is worth emphasizing. Regular physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves mental fitness and mental well-being through an increase in blood endorphins levels [39][40][41]. Aman et al surveyed 2269 adolescents (average age 14.5 years old) from 21 paediatric diabetes departments in 19 countries.…”

“…In order to best support children with diabetes, experts recommend that parents, teachers, physiotherapists, and trainers should receive appropriate training on the basics of physical activity in diabetic patients [7,39,44]. Chmiel-Perzyńska et al indicated that the main source of information about diabetes among teachers is mass media.…”