The physical activity levels of students at a University of Technology in South Africa

Abstract

Introduction Physical activity (PA) has been shown to play an important role in an individuals’ health. Physically active individuals have a lower risk of acquiring chronic health diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Physical activity is a compulsory component of the school curriculum in South Africa (SA), incorporated into the subject “Life Orientation”. However, in tertiary institutions PA is not included within the university curriculum and is only available as an additional extramural activity that not many students utilise. PA levels have been shown to decline with age in adulthood. University students are mostly young adults and it has been shown that individuals who practice healthy lifestyles when they are younger are more likely to continue those practices when they get older. Consequently, ensuring habitual PA during university years is an important and useful consideration. Knowing the physical activity levels of students provides a useful basis for intervention in this regard. Aim To compare self-reported and objectively measured physical activity patterns of students at the Durban University of Technology. Methodology This study used a cross sectional design, in a quantitative paradigm. The study was conducted among students at the Durban University of Technology from March 2019 to September 2019. The study was divided into two components. In the first, participants (n= 430) were randomly selected to complete the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to ascertain their self-reported PA levels. The second part of the study involved objectively measuring the PA levels by wearing a pedometer for a period of at least seven days to determine the number of steps taken. The study further involved an aerobic fitness assessment using the Harvard step test and the recording of anthropometric measures such as body mass index, waist to hip ratio and body fat percentage. As only 60 participants were required for this aspect of the study, those who completed the questionnaire were invited to participate in this aspect and sampling continued until a total of 60 participants was reached. Descriptive statistics used for calculation in the study included means, standard deviations, medians and range. The relationships between variables were determined by using statistical tests such as chi-squared tests, post hoc tests and Pearsons’ correlation test where a p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Of the 430 questionnaires that were distributed, a total of 394 completed questionnaires were received, yielding a response rate of 91.6%. The mean age of the respondents was 21.7 ± 4 years with an even spread between gender. Most respondents were Black African (76.6%). Questionnaire data showed that most students (76.6%) reported a high level of PA. Pedometer and aerobic fitness assessment results showed that most students were either only moderately active or sedentary. It was also shown that males reported higher levels of PA in the questionnaire and had higher levels of ambulatory PA (p=0.038) and aerobic fitness (p=0.331) compared to females. In addition, males (17.9%) had a lower prevalence of obesity compared to females (47.6%; p<0.001). Conclusion Self-reported PA levels appear to be over-estimated when compared to the more objective estimates obtained through the pedometer wear and aerobic fitness assessment in the study population. More than recommending the need interventions to increase PA in university students, the need to exercise caution in the use of self-reported measures as an absolute estimate of PA is noted. Adjusting such data through more objective measures in sub-samples may be a useful approach towards cost-effective approaches for gathering data.