Sedentary behaviour in Australian university students: The contribution of study-related sedentary behaviour to total sedentary behaviour.

Publisher: Wiley Country of Publication: Australia NLM ID: 9710936 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1036-1073 (Print) Linking ISSN: 10361073 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Promot J Austr Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2018- : Milton, Queensland : Wiley
Original Publication: West Perth, WA : Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals,

Sedentary Behavior* ; Students*/statistics & numerical data ; Students*/psychology; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Universities ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Australia ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Self Report ; Screen Time

Issue Addressed: Seated activities are attributed to increased sedentary behaviour (SB) and adverse health effects, but little is currently known about university students' SB, particularly study-related SB. This study describes the sociodemographic variations of domain-specific SB in regional Australian university students and the contribution of study-related SB to total SB.
Methods: Self-reported daily SBs from a cross-sectional survey of 451 students were used. Domain-specific and total SB were described within sub-groups, and differences examined using independent t-tests. Multinomial regression was used to examine the association of tertiles of duration in study-related SB with total and other domain-specific SBs.
Results: Study participants were a median age of 21 (19-25 years), mostly female (76%) and represented different years of study. On average, students spent 882 ± 292 min/day in total SB, with most SB occurring in the study, screen time and 'other activity' domains. No sociodemographic variations were found in total SB, but significantly higher study-related SB were reported by students studying full time (p < .001) and who moved from their family home to study (p < .022). Study-related SB contributed 36% of total SB, with students most sedentary during study having the highest total SB.
Conclusions: This study suggests university students have high levels of SB, primarily in the domains of study, screen time and other activities. SB reduction strategies in universities and targeting screen time, across various sociodemographic groups (e.g., gender, university enrolment status, and living arrangements), may be important in reducing SB in university students. SO WHAT?: University students are highly sedentary and should be included in SB programs especially students studying full time and those who moved from their family home in the study domain.
(© 2023 The Authors. Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association.)

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Keywords: health promotion; public health; sitting

Date Created: 20231210 Date Completed: 20241024 Latest Revision: 20241024

20250114

10.1002/hpja.829

38071954