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. 2020 Mar 12;20(1):317.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8396-3.

The time spent sitting does not always mean a low level of physical activity

Ewelina Matusiak-Wieczorek  1 , Anna Lipert  2 , Ewa Kochan  3 , Anna Jegier  2
Affiliations

The time spent sitting does not always mean a low level of physical activity

Ewelina Matusiak-Wieczorek et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The problem of spending most of the day in a sitting position concerns all people, regardless of their age. Unfortunately, this trend is more and more often observed among young people. The aim of the study was to assess self-reported physical activity and time spent sitting among students of different fields of health related faculty.

Methods: The study group included 216 students (22.3 ± 1.8 years of age) of the Medical University of Lodz: physiotherapy students (n = 101), pharmacy students (n = 73), and dietetics students (n = 42). The time spent sitting and physical activity level were assessed based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version.

Results: The time spent sitting among health related faculty students was on average more than 46 h a week (2781.8 ± 1238.5 MET-minutes/week). Regarding all the students the pharmacy students spent most time sitting (3086.0 ± 1032.1 MET-minutes/week), while the dietetics students spent the least (2215.7 ± 1230.1 MET-minutes/week). Taking into account the physical activity level almost 65% of all the students were in a high category (mainly physiotherapy students). Only 1.4% of all the surveyed students were classified as the low physical activity category. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences (P = 0.6880) between the time spent sitting and level of physical activity among all students.

Conclusions: Students of medical universities spend too much hours on sitting, mostly 5-8 h a day. Despite this, they undertake various activities due to which their level of physical activity is moderate or even high. Therefore, it cannot be unequivocally stated that there is a relationship between the time spent sitting and physical activity level.

Keywords: IPAQ; Physical activity level; Sedentary behaviour; Sitting time.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The comparison of the time spent sitting and physical activity level among all students and students of particular fields of health related faculty. (L Low, M Moderate, H High)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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