Effects of a Physical Exercise Programme through Service-Learning Methodology on Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Perception of Physical Fitness and Health in University Students from Spain: A Preliminary Study

Antonio Jesús Casimiro-Andújar; Eva Artés-Rodríguez; David M Díez-Fernández; María-Jesús Lirola

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043377

Effects of a Physical Exercise Programme through Service-Learning Methodology on Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Perception of Physical Fitness and Health in University Students from Spain: A Preliminary Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 15;20(4):3377. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043377.

Authors

Antonio Jesús Casimiro-Andújar^{1

2}, Eva Artés-Rodríguez³, David M Díez-Fernández^{1

2}, María-Jesús Lirola⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain.
² Sport Research Group (CTS-1024), CERNEP Research Center, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain.
³ Area of Statistics and Operative Research, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain.

Abstract

The practice of physical activity has been reported on countless occasions for the benefits it has on people's holistic health. However, today's society has high levels of inactivity and sedentary lifestyles, which highlights the importance of promoting active and healthy states in the population. As a mechanism to improve body composition, physical condition and perceived values of one's own physical condition and health status, the implementation of a strength training programme in the university community was proposed using a methodology based on Service-Learning. The participants were 12 students as coaches and 57 students from different university degrees as coachees (17 boys and 40 girls); the ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 33 years (M = 22.00; SD = 2.96). The variables of body composition, physical fitness, physical activity level and perception of fitness and health were assessed. Differences between pre- and post-intervention results were analysed using the Student's t-test and Wilcoxon test for ordinal self-perception variables. The results showed significant improvements in all the variables evaluated after the intervention. In conclusion, we would like to highlight the benefits of physical activity and the need to continue implementing action and intervention plans to encourage and promote its practice in all sectors of the population.

Keywords: UAL Activa; health promotion; healthy habits; sedentary lifestyle.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Exercise Therapy
Exercise*
Female
Humans
Male
Perception
Physical Fitness*
Spain
Students
Universities
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work has been financed with the support of UAL Sports Service under the UAL ACTIVA research contract (Ref. PSI2021/005). Furthermore, this project has the support of Spanish Ministry of Education by a University Professor Training Scholarship (FPU19/04608) granted to D.M.D.F. and Junta de Andalucía (Spain) by a postdoctoral contract (DOC_01290) possible by its Directorate-General for Research and Knowledge Transfer awarded to M.J.L.