Physical activity among Portuguese university students and its relation to knowledge and perceived barriers

Abstract

University students, regardless of the country, have a very high prevalence of physical inactivity and health habits acquired during this period tend to remain throughout life, including those related to physical exercise. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between knowledge about the recommendations on the practice of physical activity (PA), the perceived barriers towards PA and the practice of PA by higher education students. This cross-sectional study used a self-reported questionnaire with a stratified sample of university students (n = 840) from a university in Portugal. An ordinal logistic regression model was calculated to determine the predictive variables to the practice of PA. The results showed that 35.7% of the students surveyed were sedentary, the level of knowledge about PA was low, correctly answering 2.79 (SD = .090) questions in a total of 6, and lack of time was the most evident perceived barrier. The constructed model predicted that having more barriers to PA (β = -.750, p = .000) and being female decreased the likelihood of practising PA (β = .578, p = .000). The increase of PA levels of university students is a social necessity and, in this context, higher education institutions should undertake a key role in promoting student health, by implementing actions to reduce their students’ inactivity, developing the transmission of information about the health benefits related to the practice of PA.