The perception on physical activity among students

Background and Study Aim Questionnaires are useful tools for assessing the level of physical activity in the general population due to their brevity, ease of understanding, and ease of application. The aim of our study is to subjectively assess the physical activity of participants using the self-report scale of the Godin– Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Material and Methods The study involved 299 undergraduate and graduate students from Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava (Romania). In their academic activities, they typically engage in between 4 and 6 hours of practice. Additionally, many respondents participate in various physical activities, totalling another 4 to 8 hours of physical activity per week. The questionnaire consists of three questions regarding the level of physical activity (intense, moderate, low). It aims to collect data for the past 7 days for each physical activity lasting at least 15 minutes. Results The intergroup analysis of the data showed statistical significance in the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for three out of six analyzed situations: graduate males versus graduate females, undergraduate males versus undergraduate females, and graduate males versus undergraduate males (p < 0.001). In the study, data concerning the level of physical activity among students were collected. Data analysis showed that over 80% (240 out of 299) of the respondents are moderately active or active. Statistically significant differences were observed only by study level and gender. While there was a notable difference of 10 points between males and females, it did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions We can conclude that physical activity is an important aspect of students’ daily routines. However, awareness programs are necessary to encourage them to remain physically active. These programs also promote the benefits of physical activity for physical, mental, and social well-being, as well as overall quality of life.


Introduction
Questionnaires are valuable tools for assessing the level of physical activity in the general population.Other benefits of using questionnaires include their brevity, ease of understanding, and application, facilitated by technology.They also allow for fast analysis of results and enable appropriate actions based on the findings [1,2].In the field of physical education, various questionnaires are utilized, such as the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Baecke Questionnaire, Physical Activity Index, Global Physical Activities Questionnaire, and Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire.
For good health and quality of life, the recommendation is to engage in various types of physical activities for at least 150 minutes per week with moderate and vigorous intensity [3,4].In recent years, many studies have revealed a low level of physical activity among youth and children, with more than half of the subjects recording insufficient physical activity [5,6,7,8,9].Additionally, two meta-studies (involving over 3 million participants) present a concerning situation regarding adolescents and youths, with over 80% of respondents being insufficiently physically active [10,11].
Previous studies have shown that the Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire is a valid tool for assessing the level of physical activity in the general population [12,13,14,15].The use of this questionnaire has revealed that physical activity is correlated with study level, profession (individuals with higher education and office jobs tend to have more physical activity during leisure-time), and gender (males being more active than females) [16].
A study conducted on Finnish adults showed that vigorously active individuals had better physical and health functioning compared to inactive and moderately active individuals, with those in the vigorously active category experiencing greater benefits and a higher quality of life [17].Another study conducted on a Scandinavian population revealed that regular physical activity during leisure time improves bone mineral density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis [18].The Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire is a useful tool for measuring changes in physical activity in response to an intervention, treatment, or medication for health issues [19,20,21,22].Questionnaires are considered reliable and valid tools for assessing the level of physical activity.Previous studies have shown a low level of physical activity among youths, but there is a lack of information concerning Romanian youth.The aim of our study is to subjectively assess the physical activity of participants using a self-report scale, specifically the Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Participants
The study involved 299 undergraduate and graduate students from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava (Romania): undergraduate males -110, undergraduate females -80; graduate males -49, and graduate females -60.In their academic activities, they typically engage in between 4 and 6 hours of practice.Additionally, many respondents participate in various physical activities, resulting in an additional 4 to 8 hours of physical activity per week.

Research Design
The questionnaire comprises 3 questions concerning the level of physical activity (intense, moderate, low) to collect data for the last 7 days, for each physical activity that lasts for at least 15 minutes.In the analysis of the results, each strenuous activity will be multiplied by 9, each moderate activity by 5, and each mild/light activity by 3.This questionnaire could be applied to healthy individuals as well as those with health issues.According to the author of this questionnaire [23], a healthy person is considered active if they accumulate 24 or more points or units within one week.Between 14 and 23 units is considered moderately active, and less than 14 is considered insufficiently active or sedentary.For students in the field of Sport Science, a different benchmark was established: a person will be considered active if they accumulate 48 or more points/units within one week; between 28 and 47 points/units is considered moderately active, and less than 28 is considered insufficiently active or sedentary.This is twice as high as compared to the general population.

Statistical Analysis
The study utilized descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test (statistical significance set at p < 0.05) for each analyzed category (gender; study level; gender and study level).Statistical analysis was conducted using the IBM SPSS Statistics program (version 26).

Results
The intergroup analysis of the data (male-female, graduate-undergraduate, graduate male-graduate female, undergraduate male-undergraduate female, graduate male-undergraduate male, graduate female-undergraduate female) showed statistical significance at the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for three out of six analyzed situations (Table 1).
All analyzed groups in the study demonstrated a very good level of physical activity, with participants being classified as active individuals.Males achieved the highest average values, with scores exceeding 50 points, which were 10 points higher than those of females.However, at the individual level, the situation varied within each category.Among undergraduate males (110), 18 respondents were classified as sedentary, 32 as moderately active, and 60 as active.For undergraduate females (80), 13 respondents were sedentary, 33 were moderately

Discussion
The aim of our study was to subjectively assess the physical activity of participants using a self-report scale, specifically the Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire.Previous research has shown that the level of education influences adherence to regular physical activity [24], which is consistent with our findings where over 80% of respondents were classified as moderately active or active.Questionnaires are generally accepted to have moderate reliability and validity, making them accessible tools for quickly assessing the level of physical activity within a population, whether administered in written or online format [25].In our research, we utilized a translated version of the Godin-Shepard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, which was deemed more appropriate for our participants, with response times similar to those reported in other studies [26].
A follow-up study revealed that individuals who graduated from a higher vocational school or university maintained their level of physical activity compared to those with lower levels of education, among whom a decrease in physical activity was observed alongside perceived changes in health status [27].This finding is particularly relevant to our study, as it raises the question of whether, during a follow-up assessment, the same subjects will maintain or improve their level of physical activity when the questionnaire is administered again.
Leisure-time physical activity has benefits for life quality, health status, and life expectancy, with many of our respondents being active individuals experiencing multiple physical and psychological benefits due to regular physical exercise [28].Education, occupation, and income are factors that influence perceptions of physical activity in leisure time, and over generations/years, these factors have remained constant in assessing the level of physical activity in the general population [29].The Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire is affordable and easy to apply to adolescents and youth, yielding reliable data for determining the level of physical activity [30,31] and for developing intervention programs in specific situations based on the analyzed data.These findings are particularly relevant to our study, as they provide context and support for our own research into the subjective assessment of physical activity among our participants.
General recommendation is to practice regular physical exercise with moderate to vigorous intensity [32,33], a vast majority of our respondents fits in this recommendation, meaning physical, psychological and social benefits.For our subjects was noticed a significant difference both by study level and gender in 3 out of 4 situations; also, only by gender, males average scores were better than females with over 20%, but without statistical significance.240 out of 299 respondents are moderate active or active, the main goal being for the rest of the participants to practice regular physical activity for at least 150 minutes with moderate to vigorous intensity per week and muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days per week [3].
The use of questionnaires to determine the level of physical activity had some limitations, primarily due to the subjective nature of respondents' selfreports.Additionally, all respondents were students in the field of Sport Science, which may limit the generalizability of the results.Our study included 299 participants from one university, serving as a benchmark for further research focused on the level of physical activity among Romanian students and its impact on health-related fitness.Furthermore, it is recommended to increase the number of participants in future studies to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of physical activity on the daily routines of Romanian students.

Conclusions
The main challenge when using questionnaires to collect data on physical activity is to minimize subjectivity to obtain accurate information and facilitate appropriate data analysis.Our findings underscore the importance of physical activity in students' daily lives.Awareness programs are necessary to encourage them to remain physically active and promote the numerous benefits of physical activity, including physical, mental, and social well-being, and overall quality of life.Future studies should consider incorporating specific physical fitness tests alongside questionnaires to enhance objectivity in evaluation and establish a benchmark for this demographic of the Romanian population.

Table 1 .
Statistical significance at intergroup analysis Statistical significance was observed in three out of six analyzed situations (graduate male vs. graduate female; undergraduate male vs. undergraduate female; graduate male vs. undergraduate male).