Physical activity of students from selected countries. Studies review.

Purpose: The aim of the presented study was the comparison of physical activity of students from selected countries. The key of paper selection was to find various kinds of students groups from different countries and different cultures. The author compared results of students’ physical activity.Materials and methods: The paper compare the previously published papers aboutphysical activity of students from selected countries. All respondents were examined using as an instrument the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), a standardized questionnaire which enables the investigation and comparison of activity of various population groups.Results: Analysis of results of the study showed a great differentiation among students from individual countries. In each examined group of students, males proved to be the most active gender; however, among countries characterized by the highest physical activity, the results obtained by females were sometimes higher than those concerning males from countries characterized by lower activity. The study showed that the most active students are Americans and Czechs, whereas students from Croatia and South Africa show low physical activity.Conclusions: The conducted analyses demonstrated that in each country in the study the level of total activity is higher among males than females. The differences in the results of the summary MET value in males remained within the range 2,800 – 6,500 MET, while in females - within the range 1,700 – 5,900 MET. Male students were usually characterized by a high level of physical activity, whereas female students by a moderate level. Among Polish students, similar to their contemporaries from other countries, the level of total physical activity was higher among males than females. Polish students were most often characterized by a moderate level of physical activity.