Changes in physical activity levels and the factors that facilitate or hinder exercise in Singapore polytechnic students
Background: The physical activity (PA) levels of Singaporean students decrease as they get older (Wang et al., 2011) and some studies have associated the transition from secondary to post-secondary with unhealthy behaviour changes such as decreased PA levels (Vella-Zarb and Elgar, 2009). Little i...
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| Format: | Final Year Project |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76773 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Background: The physical activity (PA) levels of Singaporean students decrease as they get
older (Wang et al., 2011) and some studies have associated the transition from secondary to
post-secondary with unhealthy behaviour changes such as decreased PA levels (Vella-Zarb
and Elgar, 2009). Little is known about the exercise patterns of polytechnic students,
especially since now students have to go through a compulsory sports-and-wellness module to
encourage physical fitness. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if there is decreased PA levels and to identify factors facilitating or hindering exercise in polytechnic students from secondary
school. Methods: 15 students, aged 17 to 25, from three different polytechnics completed two sets of
International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), each based on a typical week in secondary four and in polytechnic one respectively, followed by an audio recorded interview which was transcribed verbatim. Results: One-tailed dependent t-test showed no significant decrease in PA levels between the two questionnaires’ scores. However, significant differences (p < .05) were found in the PA levels for walking and transport. Possible reasons include students with part-time jobs and in an event-based co-curricular activities which were less prominent in secondary school.
Conclusion: PA participation is largely influenced by individual, social and the polytechnics’
characteristics. The sports-and-wellness module is a good platform that ensures continued PA
participation and the students’ feedback discussed in this study may help future intervention
efforts be more effective and tailored to increase PA levels in polytechnic students.
Keywords: Polytechnic, PA, IPAQ, thematic analysis |
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