Jaromír Sedláček

Movement activity determination with health-related variables of university students in Kosice

Abstract Introduction There is currently a strong scientific evidence about the negative health consequences of physical inactivity. One of the potential tools for promoting physical activity at the institutional level of the Ecological model is to create conditions and settings that would enable pupils, students and employees engage in some form of physical activity. However, physical activities as a subject are being eliminated from the study programs at Slovak universities. The purpose of the study was to find current evidence about the level of structured physical activity and health-related variables in university students in Košice. Material and methods The sample consisted of 1,993 or, more precisely, 1,398 students who attended two universities in Košice. To collect data, students completed a questionnaire and were tested for body height, body weight, circumferential measures and percentage body fat. Results The university students did not sufficiently engage in a structured physical activity. A large number of students had either low or high values of percentage body fat and BMI and high WHR values. Conclusions Our findings have shown that the research into physical activity of university students should receive more attention.