The presence of misconceptions related to physical activity and sport in non-university higher education students

Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to detect and analyze the degree of presence of misconceptions and false beliefs related to physical activity and sport in a sample of students in this area of studies. The sample was made up of a total of 105 students in non-university higher education. Data collection was carried out through the telematic administration of the validated questionnaire “Sport and Food Habits”. Results showed a high degree of prevalence of misconceptions raised in the questionnaire, since almost 50% of false conceptions are widely rooted among the sample. It should be noted that amongst the most widespread misconceptions we find the following: “swimming is efficient in the rehabilitation of back problems”, “when we train abdominal area, we can differentiate between exercises for upper and lower abdominals”, “the consumption of Green tea and/or L-Carnitine favors weight loss (fat oxidation)” and “when we train more intensely, fat burning increases”. Furthermore, we noticed that most misconceptions are found in strength training questions. A decrease in the degree of prevalence of these false beliefs has been observed in relation to higher education levels. There were no significant differences in terms of the answers given according to the participant´s sex. In conclusion, a high degree of misinformation (nearly 50%) was found amongst the students.