Physical Activity Patterns in University Students: Do They Follow the Public Health Guidelines?

Abstract

Physical activity is associated with health. The aim of this study was (a) to access if Portuguese university students meet the public health recommendations for physical activity and (b) the effect of gender and day of the week on daily PA levels of university students. This observational cross-sectional study involved 126 (73 women) healthy Portuguese university students aged 18–23 years old. Participants wore the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Number of steps, time spent sedentary and in light, moderate and vigorous physical activity were recorded. The two-way MANOVA revealed that gender (p-value = 0.001; η2 = 0.038; minimum effect) and day of the week (p-value = 0.001; η2 = 0.174; minimum effect) had significant main effects on the physical activity variables. It was shown that during weekdays, male students walked more steps (65.14%), spent less time sedentary (6.77%) and in light activities (3.11%) and spent more time in moderate (136.67%) and vigorous activity (171.29%) in comparison with weekend days (p < 0.05). The descriptive analysis revealed that female students walked more steps (51.18%) and spent more time in moderate (125.70%) and vigorous (124.16%) activities during weekdays than in weekend days (p < 0.05). Women students did not achieve the recommended 10,000 steps/day on average during weekdays and weekend days. Only male students achieved this recommendation during weekdays. In summary, this study showed a high incidence of sedentary time in university students, mainly on weekend days. New strategies must be adopted to promote physical activity in this population, focusing on the change of sedentary behaviour.

Barreras percibidas para la práctica de actividad física en estudiantes universitarios. Diferencias por género y niveles de actividad física

“…Estas recomendaciones señalan que los adultos entre 18 y 64 años, entre los que se encuentran los estudiantes universitarios, deben acumular un mínimo de 150 minutos semanales de AF aeróbica moderada, o bien un mínimo de 75 minutos semanales de AF aeróbica vigorosa, o una combinación equivalente de AF moderada y/ o vigorosa (AFMV). Sin embargo, otros estudios realizados en estudiantes universitarios españoles (Varela-Mato, Cancela, Ayan, Martín, & Molina, 2012) y en otros países (Clemente, Nikolaidis, Martins, & Mendes, 2016), señalaron que las mujeres obtenían unos menores niveles de AFMV y eran más sedentarias. Por tanto, dadas las discrepancias existentes en la literatura en los niveles de AF que realizan hombres y mujeres universitarios, parecen necesarios más estudios que permitan indagar en las variables que dificultan u obstaculizan la práctica habitual de AF en ambos sexos.…”

The Impact of Physically Active Brain Breaks on College Students’ Activity Levels and Perceptions

“…These findings indicate a decline in PA of 22.1% when students transitioned from high school to college. A similar study examined the PA patterns of 402 college-aged females and males to determine if they achieved more PA during the week or weekend [14]. Results indicated that males achieved more total steps overall than females and participated in more moderate-to-vigorous PA than females.…”

“…Results indicated that males achieved more total steps overall than females and participated in more moderate-to-vigorous PA than females. Males obtained the recommended 10,000 steps per day on average, while females on average did not meet the 10,000 steps during the weekday or weekends [14]. A study by Doyle et al [15] also examined recommended PA levels as correlated to weight management for college students.…”

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)

“…Understanding the factors that influence PA behaviours is a key step for developing effective evidence-based programs [11]. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory offers the belief that a range of factors that can be categorised as personal, behavioural, and environmental influence human behaviour [12].…”