A survey of health awareness and physical activity among Japanese undergraduate rehabilitation students

Abstract

[Purpose] We aimed to investigate students' awareness of their general physical activity and current physical activity habits. [Participants and Methods] One hundred and eighteen undergraduate students in rehabilitation courses volunteered to participate in this survey. The participants were required to answer a questionnaire related to their health awareness and physical activity habits. A χ(2) test was used to demonstrate the relationships between each category of the selected items. [Results] Undergraduate rehabilitation students felt very or moderately healthy when asked to subjectively describe the current condition of their health. Most of them liked and had more interest in exercise or sports activities. However, more than 60% of them felt that their participation in physical activities had decreased since they entered college. [Conclusion] Undergraduate students in rehabilitation courses lacked motivation to exercise and participate in physical activities in college. Students who did not have a habit of exercising or participating in sports activities may have lacked motivation because they were busy with school; however, they had a high level of positivity towards exercise or sports activities. Therefore, it is important for them to actively participate in exercise and/or physical activity with a specific purpose in mind.