The physical activity of University students: Integrating economic and Czech public health perspectives

A healthier population brings many advantages to a nation. People are more motivated, more productive; and also are less likely to suffer conditions like heart disease; diabetes and they could enjoy better mental health. It also assists governments to keep health costs down. In the classical economic paradigm, when unhealthy behaviours or adverse health outcomes are consequence of market failures there is a justification for governmental intervention. The big growth areas, both in terms of expenditure and time allocation, have been leisure time and travel/transportation. Leisure-time industries outpace gross-domestic-products growth for both "active" (sporting goods, dance studios, gyms) and "sedentary" industries (spectator sports, cable TV), although industries associated with more sedentary lifestyles grow the fastest. These overall times spent in productive activities, whether at home or work, has declined in recent years especially between young people, where the problem is not just related with the prevalence of overweight among them, likewise in its dietary behaviours. According with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2013), Czech Republic ranks as the fattest country in Europe, based on the prevalence of obesity among adults. Around 28.7% of their adult's population is considered obese, while the number of obese is also projected to rise according with the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) in 2030. Because of this, currently, young people's health is receiving more attention because of alarming data regarding risk factors such obesity prevalence. Identifying those people at greatest risk of developing obesity is important for the development of effective public health strategies to prevent and treat excess weight gain and its associated co- morbidities. This paper analyses different data sets that reveal some surprising insights about the personal assessment of a university students (X = 82), randomly assigned, of the Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, in relation with the habit of doing physical activities; and also, the change of its eating habits during along the academic year. Finally a number of recommendations according to the results of this study were formulated to foment new habits among the experimental sample.