Knowledge of Students of the Faculty of Education about Physical Activity and Health

Abstract

Knowing the importance of physical activity (PA) can be an indicator of health and quality of life. The objective of this study was to measure the level of knowledge on the programs of the Faculty of Educational Sciences (FES) of the students of the University of Tolima about the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on PA and health. This was an observational and descriptive cross-sectional study, with 321 Colombian university students between 16 and 35 years of age who completed the online questionnaire on PA and health for adults (CUAFYS-A) with demographic data. The CUAFYS-A consists of 13 single-response Likert-type questions, with a high, medium and low measurement scale. The results indicate that females (62.6%) showed a higher knowledge of the questionnaire than males (60.8%), placing both on a medium rating scale. In general, students with higher knowledge were found in the medium scale in Social Sciences (73.2%), Natural Sciences (68.8%), Physical Education (64.7%), Mathematics (57.8%), Spanish (55.3%), and English (53.4%). It is concluded that it can be effective to obtain reference values to know, by means of a questionnaire, how much the university students of the different programs know about the WHO recommendations, as future teachers, and thus increase the interest, relevance and knowledge that can significantly modify health habits and thus improve their health and that of their future students.