PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN FEMALE STUDENTS FROM THE VISEGRAD COUNTRIES

Physical activity is becoming an increasingly recognised and vital element of life. Not only scientific reports but also daily developments confirm that PA is a significant factor conditioning health of every human being. However, it seems worrying that the amount of activity a person is involved in is currently being reduced to a minimum. Accordingly, the issue of physical activity in academic youth is more often raised by academic communities both in Poland and abroad. The time young people spent at university is the last stage when health education can be conducted on a large scale through promoting physical activity, its maintenance and control. It is the period during which one can influence and shape responsibility for others as well as own health. It is also vital to monitor the physical activity of young people from Visegrad countries. The following research aimed to analyze PA in female students in selected universities from the Visegrad countries (V4). The research involved 1169 females from the V4 group, i.e. the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The study was based on a diagnostic survey using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire IPAQ-L, which allowed to analyse physical activity in particular domains of human life (university-related activity, transportation, housework-related activity and sports). The analysis presents the level of PA by assessing the Metabolic Equivalent of Work (MET) ratio, which informs about the individual metabolic rate during a specific activity, with regard to the one needed at rest. Basing on the obtained results, the respondents were classified according to the level of physical activity (high, moderate and low). The conducted research showed that the majority of female students from the V4 countries demonstrate moderate or high levels of physical activity. A high correlation was found between the level of total activity and the level of three out of four examined domains: university-related activity, transportation and sports. To conclude, it seems vital to popularise PA, which should primarily be directed at females exhibiting low l activity in each of the four areas of life.