Physical Activity in the Southern Great Plain Region of Hungary: The Role of Sociodemographics and Body Mass Index

Associations of physical activity and physical education enjoyment with self-concept domains among Hungarian adolescents

BACKGROUND

Sport enjoyment is one of the most important factors in physical activity (PA) and physical education (PE) domains. It is not only beneficial for regular participation but also has a positive effect on mental health. Due to these benefits, this study aims to understand the relationships between PA, two forms of enjoyment, and the dimension of self-concept.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 315 students (Mage=12.63). The Self-Description Questionnaire-I was used to measure the domains of self-concept. Enjoyment was measured with two scales. The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale reflects extracurricular PA enjoyment, and the Factors Influencing Enjoyment of Physical Education Questionnaire reflects school PE enjoyment. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess vigorous, moderate, and walking types of extracurricular PA enjoyment.

RESULTS

Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis revealed that vigorous PA predicted physical ability (β = 0.19) and physical appearance (β = 0.15). PA enjoyment was a significant predictor of general self-concept (β = 0.29), physical ability (β = 0.28), physical appearance (β = 0.16), peer relation (β = 0.16), and parental relations (β = 0.14). PE enjoyment significantly predicted general school (β = 0.17), physical ability (β = 0.27), peer relations (β = 0.21) and parental relations (β = 0.22). Furthermore, boys scored at a higher level on most of self-concept domains.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggested that enjoyment plays a more important role in self-concept than PA. PE enjoyment mainly strengthens boys' self-concept, but PA enjoyment is an important predictor of general self-concept in both genders. It is concluded that extracurricular PA enjoyment is beneficial, but increasing enjoyment of physical education could increase girls' self-concepts as well.

The Impact of Age and Body Composition on Bone Density among Office Worker Women in Hungary

The study's aim was to investigate bone condition and see its associations with body composition and age among office worker women in Hungary. In total, 316 individuals participated in this study from Csongrad-Csanad county in 2019. Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 62, with a mean of 41 years. A questionnaire was used to gather sociodemographic information, whereas body composition was measured using the Inbody 230, and bone density and bone quality were measured with the SONOST 3000 ultrasound device. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test, correlation analysis, and an independent sample t-test. The results show that Body Fat Mass, Body Mass Index, Obesity Degree, and Percent Body Fat increase significantly as age increases, and Bone Quality Index and t-score decrease substantially. Furthermore, Bone Density and Bone Quality Index were positively influenced by most components of body composition. The differences between normal and osteopenia bone quality showed that Basal Metabolic Rate, Bone Mineral Content, Fat-Free Mass, Mineral Mass, Skeletal Lean Mass, and Skeletal Muscle Mass were lower in participants with osteopenia. Our results provide more evidence of the effects of body composition and age on bone density and quality. It was the first study in Hungary investigating this phenomenon, which could be useful for professionals and researchers who intend to understand the associations of bone density.

Sedentary Behavior Patterns of the Hungarian Adult Population

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Nowadays, a high level of sedentary behavior (SB) is an important health issue. Many studies have focused on evaluating the physical activity (PA) level, while evaluation of SB has received less attention. The main goal of the present study is to describe the sedentary lifestyle of the Hungarian adult population and identify the vulnerable groups with high amount of sitting time and the patterns of SB. Another aim of this study is to compare the two types of questionnaires (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-IPAQ and Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire-SBQ) related to sitting time.

METHODS

This study analyzed cross-sectional primary data using self-reported questionnaires collected by a Hungarian research market company among the adult population in Hungary. The final sample of this study consisted of 1295 participants with a mean age of 45.9 years (SD = 15.2). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test with post-hoc (Tukey) analysis were used to analyze the link between sitting time and socio-demographic variables (sex, age, BMI, settlement type, education level, marital status, work category, working hours, employment status, sport activity) and body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

According to the SBQ, on average, Hungarians sit for 469.53 min per day (7.81 h) on weekdays and 421.25 min per day (7.01 h) on weekends, which suggested a significant difference compared to IPAQ data: 287.82 min per day (4.79 h) on weekdays and 224.30 min per day (3.73 h) on weekends. Young people (aged between 18 and 29) were reported to have the highest average sitting time, i.e., 545 min per day (more than 9 h), and are showing the highest prevalence (53%) of sitting at least 480 min (8 h) per day. Sitting workers also had a high average sitting time, i.e., 514.82 min per day, and a high prevalence (49.3%) of sitting at least 480 min (8 h) per day. People who live in the capital city had higher sitting time, especially on working days. Men sat longer than woman, i.e., 19 min on working days and 45 min on weekends. The most frequent sedentary activities are: working on computer (126 min) on working days and watching TV (130 min) on weekends. Our results clearly show that the self-report single-item measure (IPAQ) significantly underestimates sedentary time compared to the multi-item questionnaire (SBQ). We identified vulnerable groups with high sitting times: men, young adults, inhabitants of the capital city and sitting workers. Consequently, these groups should be continuously surveyed, and requires specific interventions and strategies that particularly counteract the increased sitting time.

The Role of Sports in the Subjective Psychological Well-Being of Hungarian Adult Population in Three Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Background: In this study, sport and subjective psychological well-being is investigated in three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: We have conducted three different representative sample surveys (n = 3600 altogether) on the Hungarian adult population and investigated the sample's subjective psychological well-being with the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, as well as changes in their subjective well-being through the different waves of the pandemic. Sporting habits and socio-economic variables were also surveyed, and OLS regression models were created focused on the WHO-5 measures. (3) Results: The subjective psychological well-being of the Hungarian adult population decreased significantly, but in the second and third wave of pandemic restrictions, an increase in subjective psychological well-being has been measured. The relationships between the time spent on doing sports and subjective psychological well-being were significant in each pandemic waves. The highest subjective psychological well-being and its highest increase were reported by those who could increase their time spent on doing sports as well. (4) Conclusions: The relationships between the sports activities, physical health, size of settlement, changes in income and subjective psychological well-being of the Hungarian adult population were significant in all three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Physical Activity in Malaysia: Are We Doing Enough? Findings from the REDISCOVER Study

Physical activity (PA) in the form of structured or unstructured exercise is beneficial for health. This paper aims to study PA levels across four domains according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and its associated factors. A total of 7479 Malaysian adult participants between 18 to 90 years old from the REDISCOVER study who completed the IPAQ were analyzed. PA was calculated as MET-min per week and were categorized according to insufficiently active, sufficiently active and very active. Multinomial regression was used to determine the association between sociodemographic, clinical factors and the level of PA. The mean age of the participants was 51.68 (±9.5 SD). The total reported physical activity in median (IQR) was 1584.0 (0-5637.3) MET-min per week. The highest total for PA was in the domestic domain which is 490 (0-2400) MET-min per week. Factors associated with sufficiently active or very active PA include Malay ethnicity, no formal education, elementary occupation, current smokers and high HDL. Whereas low income, male and normal BMI are less likely to participate in sufficiently active or very active PA. Intervention to encourage higher PA levels in all domains is important to achieve recommended PA targets.

First Aid Willingness Questionnaire for Schoolchildren: An Exploratory Factor Analysis and Correlation Study

The goal of this study was to explore the factor structure of the First Aid Willingness Questionnaire and determine its correlations and associations between sociodemographic and sport-related variables. A total of 413 adolescents participated in this study (mean age = 14.2 years). They consisted of 221 boys and 193 girls. Besides sociodemographic and sport-related questions, the First Aid Willingness Questionnaire was used to understand the student’s first aid attitudes. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor model. The first factor was named first aid willingness for peers, which includes willingness to help friends and family members. The second factor contained factors to help strangers; thus, it was named first aid willingness for strangers. The analysis revealed a third factor that assessed the students’ knowledge of first aid. The last factor contained the students’ negative emotions. The correlation between the factors showed that knowledge had a positive association with all the other factors. Adolescents’ willingness to help their peers was highly associated with helping strangers, but negative emotions had a negative correlation with helping unknown people. Sport-related variables were investigated to determine the effects on first aid attitudes. Even though sport seemed to increase first aid willingness, future studies need to explore its associations. We believe that a deeper understanding of this topic could help prevent serious injuries or death in emergencies.