Sedentary behavior and physical activity of young adult university students. Res Nurs Health 2018 Feb;41(1):30-38
Date
01/10/2018Pubmed ID
29315656Pubmed Central ID
PMC10926845DOI
10.1002/nur.21845Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85040819430 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 75 CitationsAbstract
Movement and non-movement behaviors include sleep, sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA). While young adults are generally perceived as healthy, the level and relationship of SB and PA in college-age students has not been greatly explored. The purpose of this study was to objectively measure the levels of SB and PA in 18-20 year-old university students, record their self-reported extracurricular activities, and explore the relationship of all these with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Male (n = 48) and female (n = 46) students participated in this cross-sectional study. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine time spent in SB, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), number of self-reported sedentary extracurricular activities, and their relation to the dependent variables of BMI and WC. In correlation analyses, SB (p < .001) and MVPA (p = .017) both were negatively associated with BMI, and "other" race or ethnicity (African American, Hispanic, mixed; p = .013) and number of self-reported sedentary extracurricular activities (p = .006) were positively associated with BMI. In the WC regression model, SB (p = .018) was negatively associated and number of self-reported sedentary extracurricular activities (p = .006) was positively associated with WC. University students may be both highly active and highly sedentary. Future researchers should consider targeting interventions to reduce SB in addition to improving PA.
Author List
Peterson NE, Sirard JR, Kulbok PA, DeBoer MD, Erickson JMAuthor
Jeanne M. Erickson PhD, RN Associate Professor in the College of Nursing department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Activities of Daily LivingAttitude to Health
Cross-Sectional Studies
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Self Report
Students
Universities
Young Adult
