Participation in Physical Activity is Associated with Well-being in European University Students

• Main Authors: Miguel Peralta (Author), João Santos (Author), Joana Bordado (Author), Duarte Henriques-Neto (Author), João Martins (Author), Pedro Cruz (Author), Élvio Rúbio Gouveia (Author), Adilson Marques (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Montenegrin Sports Academy, 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.26773/mjssm.210906; 1800-8755; 1800-8763
• Keywords: exercise; active lifestyle; health; epidemiology; young adults; Sports; GV557-1198.995; Sports medicine; RC1200-1245
• Source: Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, Vol 10, Iss 2, Pp 41-46 (2021)

This study's objective was to analyse the associations between physical activity (PA) and well-being in a rep- resentative sample of European university students. This cross-sectional study was based on data from the European Social Survey round 6, 2012, comprising 3,143 European university students (1456 men and 1687 women) from 27 countries, with a mean age of 21.3±2.9 years. Socio-demographic data, PA, health perception, and the six dimensions of well-being were self-reported. Men reported practising PA more often than women did (4.4±2.2 versus 4.1 ± 2.2, p<0.001) and had better health perception (4.2±0.7 versus 4.1 ± 0.8, p<0.001) and total well-being score (5.5±1.2 versus 5.2 ± 1.3, p<0.001). PA frequency was linearly associated with health perception (p<0.001) as well as the overall well-being score (p<0.001). There is a positive association between PA and the well-being of European university students. This emphasizes the importance of PA in the university students' lifestyle and the need to develop programmes that reduce physical inactivity.