Cited by 129Physical Activity and HealthHealth and Lifestyle StudiesSports and Physical Education Studies

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

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Clemente, Filipe Manuel, Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theodoros, Martins, Fernando Manuel Lourenço, Mendes, Rui Sousa·2016·PLOS ONE

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.

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  1. [1]Haskell WL, Lee IM, Pate RR, Powell KE, Blair SN, Franklin BA, et al Physical Activity and Public Health. Med Sci Sport Exerc. 2007; 39: 1423– 1434. 17762377
  2. [2]World Health Organization. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press; 2010. 26180873
  3. [36]Dinger MK. Physical activity and dietary intake among college students. Am J Health Stud. 1999; 15: 139– 148.

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Authors
Clemente, F. M., Nikolaidis, P. T., Martins, F. M. L., & Mendes, R. S.
Affiliations
  • Universidade Politécnica de Viana do Castelo (PT)
  • Universidade Politécnica de Coimbra (PT)
Corresponding author
Clemente, Filipe Manuel
Venue
PLOS ONE
Published
2016-03-29
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
e0152516
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2322544525
Cited by
129
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2
FWCI
7.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (OE/EEI/LA0008/2013, PEst-OE/EEI/LA0008/2013)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
  • Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
Keywords
physical activity, university students, sedentary behavior, public health recommendations, gender differences, days of the week, step count, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, light physical activity, accelerometer-measured activity
MeSH terms
Anthropometry, Female, Health Planning Guidelines, Humans, Male, Motor Activity, Public Health, Students, Universities

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