Promoting active lifestyle for university students: the MoEBIUS project

University students are an optimal target for physical activity promotion, as young adulthood is crucial for the genesis and consolidation of salutogenic behaviors. University represents a privileged setting for investigating lifestyle of young adults and promoting physical activity. Our study assessed levels of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle in a sample of students from a large university in Southern Italy.

This is a cross-sectional study within the scope of project MoEBIUS, promoting healthy lifestyle in university and higher education students. The study population was represented by students at Bari Aldo Moro University's School of Medicine. A questionnaire was elaborated investigating physical activity and sedentarism. These outcomes' distribution was confronted between male and female students via Mann-Whitney's rank-sum test. Linear regression was employed to study the impact of biological sex, age, and years in university on both physical activity and sedentarism.

Two-hundred-thirteen students were enrolled. Sedentary activities' daily average was 423.82±200.00 min, while 316.53±303.69 minutes were dedicated to physical activity of any intensity, weekly. The average time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was 287.14±362.13 min per week. Fifty-eight students (27.23%) reported insufficient physical activity. Mann-Whitney's test highlighted significant differences between males and females for all 3 outcomes. Females reported more sedentary behaviors (z: 3.17; P value=0.001) and less physical activity, both any-intensity (z:-4.59; P value<0.001) and moderate/vigorous (z: -3.55; P value<0.001). Regression analysis confirmed the observed male-female difference. Older age was also shown to negatively impact physical activity.

Physical activity levels in our sample were similar to national average. The significant impact of biological sex suggests a persistent role of gender-based models. Targeted interventions on university students should focus on the deconstruction of gender stereotypes in sports, as well as on the positive impact of physical activity on well-being and academic performance.