Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in University Students–The Role of Gender, Age, Field of Study, Targeted Degree, and Study Semester

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Dennis Edelmann¹  Daniel Pfirrmann¹  Sebastian Heller²  Pavel Dietz²  Jennifer L. Reichel²  Antonia M. Werner³  Markus Schäfer⁴  Ana N. Tibubos⁵  Nicole Deci⁶  Stephan Letzel²  Perikles Simon¹  Kristin Kalo¹ 

[1] Department of Sports Medicine, Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz;Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Centre of the University of Mainz;Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz;Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz;Diagnostics in Healthcare and E-Health, University of Trier;Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg

关键词: physical activity;    sitting time;    student health;    modifiable health influencing factors;    sedentary behavior;    university students;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2022.821703

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are modifiable risk factors for an unhealthy lifestyle in university students. The aim of this study was to identify subgroups among German university students with an increased risk for unhealthy behavior. For this purpose, differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior with respect to sociodemographic and study related factors were examined. Methods A total of 4,351 students participated in an online survey. The amount of physical activity (metabolic equivalent of task-min/week) and the sitting time (h/day) were assessed using the German short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Differences in gender and age as well as field of study, targeted degree and study semester were analyzed using a single factorial ANOVA with Tukey correction or a Welch-ANOVA with Games-Howell correction. Results For physical activity, significant differences were found for gender ( F (2, 80.46) = 17.79, p 0.05). For sedentary behavior, significant differences were found for field of study ( F (5, 3816) = 5.69, p 0.05). Conclusion Female students, students enrolled in “natural sciences, mathematics and informatics” and first year students appear to have an increased risk of an unhealthy lifestyle. Future research should identify barriers to and incentives of physical activity as well as reasons for high amounts of SB in sub-populations of university students. Suitable prevention and intervention programs are necessary.

【 授权许可】

CC BY