STUDENTS LEISURE TIME AS A DETERMINANT OF THEIR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AT UNIVERSITIES OF THE EU VISEGRAD GROUP COUNTRIES

Background. Studies on physical activity are vital for those students destined to become the future elite in the Visegrad countries. This issue is of particular concern because most studies undertaken from various countries have, in this respect, demonstrated significant deficiencies. Study aims: to determine the link between students leisure time and their levels of physical activity according to gender.

Material and methods. Subjects were 2337 university students consisting of 1169 females and 1068 males from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary studying a variety of disciplines. The long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used as a standardised measure for the study.

Results. Male students were found to have significantly more leisure time than females, with the highest levels observed in those studying the humanities, somewhat lower levels for the medical sciences whilst the lowest were for the technical sciences. The greater the amount of leisure time, the more significant was the impact found on levels of physical activity. Male students with sufficient leisure time demonstrated the highest levels of physical activity.

However, no such relation was found in women where, in contrast, the highest levels of physical activity were found in those having too little leisure time.

Conclusions. The differences observed between genders in their links with leisure time and levels of physical activity should be taken into account when the teaching of physical activities are designed/devised for student studies.