Prevalence and Associated Factors of Physical Activity among Medical Students from the Western Balkans

Maja Grujičić, Miloš Ilić, Budimka Novaković, Aleksandra Vrkatić and Zagorka Lozanov-Crvenković
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Maja Grujičić: Department of General Education Subjects, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Miloš Ilić: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Budimka Novaković: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Aleksandra Vrkatić: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Zagorka Lozanov-Crvenković: Department of Mathematics and Informatics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: The student population includes young adults who need nutrition and regular physical activity (PA) for mental, cognitive, and physical development. It is estimated that, globally, only 25–40% of the university student population is involved in regular PA. To date, no research has been conducted in the Western Balkans to address the PA of medical students. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and factors influencing PA among medical students from the Western Balkans. A cross-sectional study included 2452 students from 14 medical faculties in five countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia). There were significantly more students who engaged than those who did not engage in some type of regular (daily) PA. Gender, overweight or obesity, and household income are significantly associated with students’ PA. Students who are more often involved in regular daily PA and have higher daily PA levels are more likely to be males whose household income is above average. In order to improve the health of the student population, the public health authorities need to continuously investigate the PA of students and introduce appropriate activities to increase their level of PA.

Keywords: physical activity; medical students; young adults; public health; Western Balkans (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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