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89

Original scientific article            UDC: 796.011.1:378.011.3-052
received: 2018-11-07

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND 
ITS RELATION TO PHYSICAL FITNESS AND ACADEMIC 

SUCCESS

Silvester LIPOŠEK 1, Jurij PLANINŠEC 2, Bojan LESKOŠEK 3, 
Aleksander PAJTLER 4

1University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovenia
2University of Maribor, Faculty of Education, Slovenia

3University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sport, Slovenia
4University of Maribor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and 

Architecture, Slovenia

Corresponding Author:
Silvester LIPOŠEK

University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Smetanova ulica 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Phone: +386 31 651 868
E-mail: silvester.liposek@um.si

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the physical activity per-
formed by students, its frequency and intensity and how this physical activity may relate 
to their physical fitness and academic success.

Methods: The sample consisted of 297 undergraduate students from 20 to 22 years 
of age (mean 20.5 ± 0.7) from the University of Maribor. The type and frequency of 
physical activity in which they engaged were measured using the IPAQ. Academic per-
formance was defined as regular admission to the second year of study. Students’ physi-
cal fitness was determined using Eurofit and FitnessGram tests.

Results: Analysis of the IPAQ questionnaire shows that the majority of students re-
ported being physically active in the afternoon. Nevertheless, according to the WHO’s 
guidelines, 79.8 % of students were insufficiently physically active. The results show 
that males performed better than females in nearly all of the physical fitness tests. Pe-
riods of two to three hours of weekly physical activity were positively associated with 
academic success, while four hours or more resulted in no contribution.

Conclusion: Correlations between physical activity and physical fitness were pri-
marily found in higher duration physical activity and in higher frequency of vigorous 
exercise. The results of this study are similar to those of other countries regarding the 



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

insufficient physical activity of young people. The influence of physical activity on aca-
demic success was analyzed by binary logistic regression. The majority of students were 
academically successful and regularly admitted to the second year of study (86.5 %).  

Keywords: physical activity, physical fitness, academic achievement, university stu-
dents.

TELESNA DEJAVNOST ŠTUDENTOV IN NJENA POVEZAVA S 
TELESNIM FITNESOM IN ŠTUDIJSKIM USPEHOM

IzvlEčEk 

Namen: Cilj raziskave je bil ugotoviti pogostost in intenzivnost izvedene telesne 
aktivnosti študentov ter kako ta telesna aktivnost vpliva na njihovo telesno kondicijo in 
študijski uspeh.

Metode: V vzorec merjencev je bilo zajetih 297 dodiplomskih študentov in študentk 
starih od 20 do 22 let (AS 20.5±0.7) Univerze v Mariboru. vrste in pogostost telesne 
aktivnosti smo merili z IPAQ vprašalnikom. Akademska uspešnost študentov je bila oce-
njena z rednim napredovanjem v drugi letnik študija. Telesna pripravljenost študentov 
je bila ocenjevana z uporabo Eurofit in FitnessGram baterijo testov. 

Rezultati: Rezultati analize IPAQ vprašalnika kažejo na to, da so študentje telesno 
aktivni večinoma v popoldanskih urah. v skladu s smernicami Svetovne zdravstvene 
organizacije (WHO) je kar 79,8% študentov neaktivnih ali premalo telesno aktivnih. 
Rezultati nam kažejo, da moški v skoraj vseh testih telesne pripravljenosti dosegajo 
boljše rezultate kot ženske. Dve do tri ure telesne aktivnosti na teden kaže pozitiven 
učinek na študijski uspeh, medtem ko pri štirih urah in več tedenske aktivnosti, tega 
učinka ni zaznati.

Zaključek: korelacija med telesno aktivnostjo in telesno kondicijo je bila ugoto-
vljena predvsem ob daljšem trajanju telesne aktivnosti ter pogostosti naporne vadbe. 
Rezultati te študije so bili podobni študijam v drugih državah, kjer so ugotovili pre-
majhno telesno aktivnost mladih. vpliv telesne aktivnosti na študijski uspeh je bil ana-
liziran z binarno logistično regresijo. večina študentov je bila akademsko uspešnih 
(86,5%) in je redno napredovala v drugi letnik študija.

Ključne besede:  športna aktivnost, telesna pripravljenost, študijski uspeh, študenti.



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INTRODUCTION

Past research studies confirm that regular physical activity performed by children, 
adolescents and adults has a positive effect on health (Boreham & Roddoch, 2001; Pori 
et al., 2013) and reduces the risk of developing various diseases (Hallal, Victora, Aze-
vedo & Wells, 2006; Warburton, Nicol & Bredin, 2006). Generally, physical fitness and 
physical activity excerpt a positive impact on perception and concentration (Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010; Trudeau & Shephard, 2008). Additionally, 
consistent physical activity has a positive influence on self-esteem (Crocker, Sabiston, 
Kowalski, McDonough & Kowalski, 2006; Dunton, Jamner & Cooper, 2003; More-
no, Cervelló & Moreno, 2008; Weiss & Williams, 2004), while lowering anxiety and 
stress (Dolenc, 2015; Flook, Repetti & Ullman, 2005). However, it must be taken into 
account that vigorous physical activity is time-consuming, requires recovery and the-
refore might reduce learning and studying time. The extended use of the internet and 
computer games (i.e., screen-time) poses a huge threat to a healthy lifestyle; therefore, 
only a small proportion of adolescents regularly participate in physical activity (Aslan 
& Arslan Cansever, 2012; Madell & Muncer, 2004).

Many studies have attempted to identify a relationship between physical activity 
and academic achievement. However, these studies have had diverse and even contra-
dictory conclusions: a significant positive correlation between the duration of physical 
activity and academic success (Coe, Pivarnik, Womack, Reeves & Malina, 2006; Kim 
et al., 2003), small correlation between them (Daley & Ryan, 2000; Sallis et al., 1999) 
and a negative correlation (Tremblay, Inman & Williams, 2000). Research has also 
established that physical activity itself has many positive effects (better self-image, 
self-esteem, behavioural changes, better motivation in other areas, etc.), all of which 
influence academic success (Trudeau & Shephard, 2008).

In the literature, the FitnessGram assessment was primarily used in the USA (Ren-
frow, Caputo, Otto, Farley & Eveland-Sayers, 2011; Shriver et al., 2011). In Europe, 
for example, fitness tests were usually combined with FitnessGram and Eurofit items 
alongside some national recommendations (Aires et al., 2010). Recent results of he-
alth-related fitness tests on children show that results are progressively worsening and 
are accompanied by growing obesity and low physical activity (Shriver et al., 2011). 
A comparison between obesity and health-related fitness is easier to conduct because 
the measures are well-defined, whereas physical activity can be measured by various 
means, for example, by weekly duration, frequency, intensity or variety.

The study of physical activity of the university student population is especially 
interesting, as in Slovenia and several other countries (Cardinal, Sorensen & Cardinal, 
2012; Hardman, 2008), physical education is no longer a mandatory subject at tertiary 
level, as it is in secondary schools. Therefore, it is important to establish if one of the 
most important objectives of mandatory physical education, i.e., educating students to 
accept physical activity as one of their regular life-long habits, has actually been fulfil-
led and if the decision to drop physical education from university curricula, a decision 



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

made several years ago, has resulted in a large proportion of students becoming insuffi-
ciently active or even inactive. 

The aim of our study was twofold: 1) to explore the current state of physical activity 
and the physical fitness of university students and their anthropometric data and 2) to 
explore the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and the academic 
success of university students. There has been little research on the effect of physical 
activity on academic performance in Slovenia. On the basis of research results elsew-
here, we assume that our study will demonstrate the positive effects of physical activity 
on academic performance. 

METHODS

Sample

The sample consisted of second-year undergraduate students from fourteen facul-
ties of the University of Maribor. Approximately 10 % of all full-time second-year 
undergraduate students, between 20 and 22 (mean 20.5 ± 0.7) years of age, agreed to 
participate in the study (n = 297, 114 or 38.4 % males and 183 or 61.6 % females). 

  Data Collection Procedure

To collect information about students’ physical activities in the week before fitness 
testing, we used the IPAQ questionnaire (Bailey, Mckay, Mirwald, Crocker & Faulkner, 
1999) with certain modifications (questions about the time of day and the type of physi-
cal activities were added). The time aspect of physical activity execution is divided as 
follows: pre-noon physical activities happen before 12 o’clock, afternoon physical ac-
tivities are performed between 12 and 6 pm, while evening physical activities are exe-
cuted after 6 pm and later. Physical fitness testing took place at the University Sports 
Centre and was carried out by staff trained in measurement procedures. The two-day 
testing was open to all second-year students at the University of Maribor. Participation 
was voluntary; all of the participants gave written consent. Individual fitness tests were 
carried out at stations set up as a polygon. The order of fitness tests and conducted me-
asurements were the same for all participants. We administered the following twelve 
physical fitness test items to measure motor performance FitnessGram (Meredith & 
Welk, 2010), EuroFit (Topend Sports, 2016) and national recommendations SLOFit 
(Strel et al., 1996): plate tapping test (20”), polygon backwards, the wall toss test, 
standing forward bend and reach flexibility test, sit and reach flexibility test, standing 
shoulder rotation flexibility test, standing long jump test, sit-ups in 60” test, flexed arm 
hang test, the flamingo balance test, 20-meter sprint and the 20-meter shuttle run. The 
20-meter shuttle run results were converted to VO2 max volumes according to the in-
structions set out by Ramsbottom et al. (1988). The following anthropometric measures 



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Silvester LIPOŠEK, Jurij PLANINŠEC, Bojan LESKOŠEK, Aleksander PAJTLER: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ..., 89–104

were taken (Topend Sports, 2016): body height, body weight, upper arm circumference, 
thigh circumference and abdominal circumference. To estimate the amount of subcuta-
neous fat, we measured each participant’s upper arm (triceps) skinfold, thigh skinfold 
(suprapatellar), abdomen skinfold (abdominal and suprailiac skinfold) and back skin-
fold.

The weekly duration of physical activity (number of hours of physical activity in 
the previous week), frequency of vigorous physical activity (number of sessions of vi-
gorous physical activity lasting at least 15 minutes in the previous week), frequency of 
moderate physical activity (number of sessions of moderate physical activity lasting at 
least 15 minutes in the previous week), frequency of low effort physical activity (num-
ber of sessions of low effort physical activity lasting at least 15 minutes in the previous 
week) and sports club membership were used as indicators of physical activity. Criteria 
suggested by Janssen (2001) were employed to measure the intensity of physical acti-
vity (vigorous, moderate, low effort).

The dependent variable of academic success was defined as the regular admission 
to the second year of study (coded as 1 if a student was regularly admitted from the first 
to the second year of study and 0 otherwise).

Data Analysis

The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20.0 software (IBM Corp., Ar-
monk, NY). Physical fitness test results were compared by gender using an independent 
samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test in case the Shapiro–Wilks test did not confirm 
the normal distribution of data. To determine the relationship between physical activity 
and physical fitness tests, Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used. The influence 
of physical activity on academic success was calculated by a binary logistic regression. 
The odds ratio, 95 % confidence interval and P value were calculated for each variable 
included in the logistic model. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. 

RESULTS

Analysis of the IPAQ questionnaire results shows that the majority of students re-
ported being physically active in the afternoon (from 12 to 6 pm), as 161 (54.2 %) 
reported being active 2 to 3 times a week or more; in the evening (after 6 pm), this 
figure was 94 (31.6 %), and in the morning (before noon), 43 (14.5 %) reported being 
physically active. Eleven (3.7 %) students were completely inactive during the previous 
week. Figure 1 also shows that males and females reported a similar physical activity 
pattern during the week.



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

Figure 1. Weekly Frequency of Physical Activity of Students by Gender and Time of Day.

 

For vigorous exercise of at least 15 minutes, 79 (26.6 %) students reported no enga-
gement, and 82 (27.6 %) students exercised vigorously only once a week. For moderate 
exercise of at least 15 minutes, 106 (35.7 %) students reported exercising once a week, 
while 62 (20.9 %) reported never exercising at this intensity level. 78 (26.3%) students 
engaged in exercises requiring low effort once a week, while 94 (31.6 %) students re-
ported no engagement (Figure 2). Based on the criteria set forth in the WHO’s guideli-
nes (WHO, 2004), 237 (79.8 %) students were inactive or insufficiently active because 
they were not physically active for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, or at least 
75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, exercise throughout the week. Among these students, 
approximately half expressed a lack of free time and being overburdened with study as 
the reasons for their inactivity. 

Figure 2. Frequency of Weekly Physical Activity (PA) lasting longer Than 15 Minutes.



ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

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The anthropometric data results in Table 1 show that male students were higher, 
heavier and had a higher body mass index. Males also had larger circumferences and 
lower skinfolds with the exception of the abdominal skinfold. There were also no diffe-
rences in age between the groups.

Table 1. Anthropometric data arranged by gender of students.

Males
n=114

Females
n=183 p-value*

mean SD mean SD

Age (years) 20.4 0.7 20.5 0.7 ns

Body height (cm) 180.7 6.7 166.2 5.9 <0.001

Body weight (kg) 80.0 10.5 64.0 12.3 <0.001

Body mass index (kg/m2) 24.5 3.0 23.1 4.3 <0.001

Upper arm circumference (mm) 305.1 27.7 272.8 34.5 <0.001

Thigh circumference (mm) 576.1 44.8 558.9 60.5 0.006

Abdominal circumference (mm) 871.7 83.7 824.5 119.4 <0.001

Upper arm skinfold (mm) 10.5 4.9 17.0 8.0 <0.001#

Back skinfold (mm) 13.9 5.8 16.3 8.9 0.006#

Thigh skinfold (mm) 18.0 9.0 24.3 8.7 <0.001#

Abdominal skinfold (mm) 18.7 8.5 19.2 8.4 ns#

Suprailiac skinfold (mm) 17.4 8.2 20.4 7.9 0.002#

* independent samples t-test; # Mann-Whitney U test; ns = not significant

The results in Table 2 show that males performed statistically significantly better 
than females in most of the twelve physical fitness tests, except in three flexibility tests 
(Standing forward bend and reach, Sit and reach, Shoulder rotation), where female 
students performed better than males and in Flamingo balance test where the difference 
is not significant.



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Table 2. Physical fitness test results arranged by gender.

Males
n=114

Females
n=183

p-va-
lue*

m s m s

Plate tapping 20« (count) 48.9 4.9 46.2 4.7 <0.001

Polygon backwards (seconds) 9.0 1.6 11.9 2.2 <0.001

Wall toss test (count) 22.9 4.9 15.9 4.7 <0.001

Standing forward bend and reach (cm) 46.6 7.8 49.7 7.3 0.001

Sit and reach (cm) 22.6 7.9 26.6 7.3 <0.001

Shoulder rotation (cm) 109.4 15.5 88.5 16.7 <0.001

Standing long jump (cm) 225.9 24.1 161.8 22.5 <0.001

Sit-ups 60” (count) 49.8 9.2 41.1 9.1 <0.001

Flexed arm hang test (seconds) 24.6 17.0 11.5 13.6 <0.001#

Flamingo balance test (count) 9.3 5.0 9.7 4.7 ns #

20-m sprint (seconds) 3.2 0.2 4.1 0.4 <0.001

20-m shuttle run (VO2 max, ml/kg/min) 38.2 6.4 27.4 1.4 <0.001

M = mean; SD = standard deviation; * independent samples t-test; # Mann-Whitney U test; 
ns = not significant

To find out how physical activity correlates with physical fitness, we analyzed three 
different parameters describing the extent of physical activity: a) weekly duration of 
physical activity; b) the weekly frequency of vigorous exercise lasting at least 15 mi-
nutes and c) weekly frequency of moderate exercise lasting at least 15 minutes. As the 
significant differences between males and females in physical fitness were found, we 
decided to analyze this relation separately, by gender. The results in Table 3 provided 
several significant relationships between the duration and intensity of physical activity 
and fitness with primarily weak correlation coefficients.



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Silvester LIPOŠEK, Jurij PLANINŠEC, Bojan LESKOŠEK, Aleksander PAJTLER: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ..., 89–104

Table 3. Correlation between Physical Activity and Physical Fitness Test Results, Ar-
ranged by Gender.

weekly duration of 
physical activity in 

hours

weekly frequency of 
vigorous exercise la-
sting at least 15 min

weekly frequency of 
moderate exercise la-
sting at least 15 min

Males
n=114

r**

Females
n=183

r**

Males
n=114

r**

Females
n=183

r**

Males
n=114

r**

Females
n=183

r**

Plate tapping 0.20# 0.11 0.26* 0.13 -0.12 -0.03

Polygon backwards -0.14 -0.15# -0.19# -0.18# 0.08 0.04

Wall toss test 0.36* 0.17# 0.28* 0.12 0.18 -0.09

Standing forward 
bend and reach 0.11 0.15# 0.02 0.14 0.00 0.04

Sit and reach 0.13 0.13 -0.04 0.04 0.11 0.06

Shoulder rotation -0.03 0.00 0.00 -0.10 0.13 -0.10

Standing long jump 0.21# 0.14 0.26* 0.19* -0.03 -0.01

Pull-up 60” 0.24* 0.17# 0.32* 0.21* -0.05 0.11

Flexed arm hang test 0.25* 0.30* 0.25* 0.23* 0.11 0.21*

Flamingo balance 
test -0.20# -0.10 -0.14 -0.19* 0.05 0.02

20-m sprint -0.06 -0.22* -0.14 -0.22* 0.02 -0.08

20-m shuttle run 0.29* 0.23* 0.37* 0.28* -0.01 0.00

r** = Spearman’s correlation coefficient; * = p < 0.001; # = p < 0.05

The influence of physical activity on academic success was analyzed by binary lo-
gistic regression (Table 4). The majority of students were academically successful and 
regularly admitted to the second year of study (86.5n%). Two or three hours of weekly 
physical activity had a positive influence on regular admission to the second year of stu-
dy (OR = 3.37, 95 %,  CI = 1.18–9.62, P = 0.024 and OR = 4.37, 95 % CI = 1.44–13.24, 
P = 0.009, respectively). Neither vigorous physical activity nor sports club membership 
had any influence on academic success (OR = 0.55, 95 % CI = 0.21–1.43, P = 0.220 and 
OR = 0.81, 95 % CI = 0.30–2.18, P = 0.674, respectively). Regarding the anthropome-



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tric data, being overweight (as indicated by body mass index) also had no influence on 
academic success (OR = 0.72, 95 % CI = 0.31–1.69, P = 0.452).

Table 4. Binary logistic regression for the prediction of academic success.

Regular admission to the 
2nd year of study OR (95% CI) p-value

No
n=40 (%)

Yes
n=257 (%)

Weekly PA

1 hour or less 11 (27.5) 30 (11.7) 1.00 (reference)

2 hours 8 (20.0) 64 (24.9) 3.37 (1.18 – 9.62) 0.024

3 hours 7 (17.5) 75 (29.2) 4.37 (1.44 – 13.24) 0.009

4 hours 5 (12.5) 37 (14.4) 3.54 (0.99 – 12.59) 0.051

5 hours or more 9 (22.5) 51 (19.8) 3.26 (0.86 – 12.45) 0.083

Vigorous PA

2x weekly or less 28 (70.0) 199 (77.4) 1.00 (reference)

3x weekly or more 12 (30.0) 58 (22.6) 0.55 (0.21 – 1.43) 0.220

Moderate PA

2x weekly or less 34 (85.0) 208 (80.9) 1.00 (reference)

3x weekly or more 6 (15.0) 49 (19.1) 1.09 (0.38 – 3.11) 0.875

Low effort PA

2x weekly or less 31 (77.5) 179 (69.6) 1.00 (reference)

3x weekly or more 9 (22.5) 78 (30.4) 1.18 (0.51 – 2.76) 0.700

Sports club membership

No 30 (75.0) 206 (80.2) 1.00 (reference)

Yes 10 (25.0) 51 (19.8) 0.81 (0.30 – 2.18) 0.674

Body mass index

<25 (normal) 27 (67.5) 187 (72.8) 1.00 (reference)

≥ 25 (overweight) 9 (22.5) 51 (19.8) 0.72 (0.31 – 1.69) 0.452

≥ 30 (obese) 4 (10.0) 19 (7.4) 0.56 (0.17 – 1.88) 0.349

Gender

Male 16 (40.0) 98 (38.1) 1.00 (reference)

Female 24 (60.0) 159 (61.9) 0.94 (0.43 – 2.03) 0.868

OR = odds ratio, 95%CI = 95% confidence interval, PA = physical activity



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DISCUSSION

International studies have shown that the percentage of physically inactive students 
varies from country to country: 23 % in Western Europe and the U.S., 30 % in Central 
and Eastern Europe, 39 % in Mediterranean countries, 42 % in the countries of the 
Asia-Pacific region and 44 % in developing countries (Haase, Steptoe, Sallis & Wardle, 
2004). Guthold published data on levels of physical inactivity in 51 countries, most of 
which were low or middle income, and observed several trends (Guthold, Ono, Strong, 
Chatterji, & Morabia, 2008). Globally, with the exception of several Eastern European 
countries, women were more likely to be physically inactive than men. Few studies 
have explored the reasons for decreasing levels of physical activity in developing co-
untries. Ng et al. (2009) estimate that between 1991 and 2006, average weekly physical 
activity fell by 32 per cent. Globally, around 23 % of adults aged 18 and over were not 
active enough in 2010 (men 20 % and women 27 %). In high-income countries, 26 % of 
men and 35 % of women were insufficiently physically active, as compared to 12 % of 
men and 24 % of women in low-income countries (World Health Organization, 2016).

The results of our study showed a more positive picture as only 7.4 % of students 
reported not being involved in vigorous or moderate exercise; however, 26.6 % of stu-
dents reported not performing any vigorous exercise. The results of our study on the 
physical activity of students may therefore be considered similar to previous studies. 
With respect to the WHO recommendations (World Health Organization, 2004), with 
the time component of adequate physical activity included (150 minutes of moderate-
-intensity, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity throughout the week), our results 
are worse, showing that only 20.2 % of students reported adequate physical activity. 
For example, this percentage was similar to a national survey conducted by Casper-
sen, Fereira, and Curran (2000), who found that only 25 % of Americans reach the re-
commended level of physical activity. Regarding organized physical activity, our study 
showed that only 20.5 % of the students were active in a sports club. The percentage 
of students active in sports clubs is close to the figure in Croatia (23 %) (Andrijašević, 
Paušić, Bavčević & Ciliga, 2005), although another study has suggested that only 16 % 
of Slovene students are actually active in sports clubs (Golja & Robič, 2014). 

In Sweden, however, it was reported that the percentage of young people enga-
ged in sport clubs is increasing, as 66 % of boys and 53 % of girls were active in 
them (Westerståhl, Barnekow-Berkvist, Hedberg & Jansson, 2003), a percentage that 
is considerably higher than the levels in Slovenia or Croatia. Our results showed that 
students were under-active, considering that a healthy adult requires a minimum physi-
cal activity time of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (such as fast 
walking, cycling on flat terrain, or even mowing the lawn) or 75 minutes of vigorous 
exercise (running, swimming, rough terrain biking, playing basketball or tennis) (Jans-
sen, 2001), where only approximately 20.2 % of students reported sufficiently frequent 
engagement.

Since the results of the physical fitness tests indicated significant differences betwe-
en males and females, we decided to calculate the correlation between physical activity 
and fitness tests results by gender. The results show that in this gender comparison, 



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ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

there is on average a smaller share of women who take part in no physical activity, but 
a higher percentage who take part in physical activity once or two to three times per 
week. The study demonstrates that male students outperformed their female counter-
parts in almost all motor tests except the flamingo, which measures balance, where no 
significant difference was found and in flexibility, where female students performed 
better than male. 

The second purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between the repor-
ted extent of weekly physical activity and physical fitness. In most cases, especially in 
overall weekly duration of physical activity and weekly frequency of vigorous exercise 
lasting at least 15 minutes, physical activity is positively correlated to physical fitness, 
however most correlation coefficients were low and, in some cases, also not statistically 
significant. Even weaker correlation was found between weekly frequency of moderate 
exercise lasting at least 15 minutes and physical fitness. The only coefficients excee-
ding 0.3 were those between overall duration of physical activity and the frequency of 
vigorous exercise with the wall toss test, pull-up 60” and 20-m shuttle run among male 
students. Similarly, Renfrow et al. (2011) found that males who played more sports 
achieved significantly better FitnessGram overall scores. In a longitudinal study, Aires 
et al. (2010) found that an increased physical activity index contributed to improved 
physical fitness. Associations between physical activity and physical fitness tests, as 
documented in available studies such as Martinez-Vizcaino & Sanchez-Lopez, (2008), 
Fang et al. (2017) show the positive effects of increased physical activity for improved 
health-related physical fitness in children and young people (Martínez-Vizcaíno & Sán-
chez-López, 2008; Malina, Bouchard & Bar-Or, 2004).

Our last research aim was to explore whether the extent of physical activity influences 
academic success, which was defined as regular admission from the first to the second 
year of study. In previous researches, physical activity has not clearly been associated 
with academic performance (Daley & Ryan, 2000; Sallis et al., 1999; Tremblay et al., 
2000). Our results provided some evidence that higher duration of physical activity may 
positively influence academic performance, which was similar to Coe et al. (2006), Kim 
et al. (2003) California Department of Education (2001), Sibley & Eitner (2003), Castelli, 
Hillman, Buck & Erwin (2007) and Trost (2016). On the other hand, our results regarding 
comprehensive vigorous physical activity or sports club membership provided no proof 
of their positive influence on academic success. This might suggest that two to three hour 
weekly recreational physical activity is positive for one’s academic success, while spor-
ting physical activity is probably too exhausting and time- consuming.

Study Limitations

Measuring weekly physical activity among the population is difficult because its 
duration, intensity, frequency, and type of exercise performed are seldom recorded. 
Physical activity is usually performed with less consistency, more often in some we-
eks, in others less, sometimes physical activity is performed on weekends, sometimes 



ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 9 • 2018 • 2

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during the week, etc. Therefore, participants face difficulties in reliability and reporting 
every detail of their weekly physical activity. To reduce bias, we gathered data about 
physical activity with several measures: weekly duration in hours, frequency by inten-
sity of exercise (vigorous and moderate), larger sample, the greater number of faculties 
and different level of exercise (low effort PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that the duration of physical activity has only a limited in-
fluence on the academic performance of undergraduate students. Two to three hour 
weekly recreational physical activity proved beneficial, while comprehensive vigo-
rous exercise and sports club participation did not. According to the literature, we 
expected stronger correlations between the reported extent of weekly physical activi-
ty and fitness test performance. Similarly, we did not expect such negative / bad re-
sults about the extent of physical activity among students, as they in general reported 
physical activity below international recommendations. In Slovenia, the number of 
physically active students would most certainly increase if each faculty had adequate 
sports facilities and equipment which students could use in their leisure time free of 
charge.

Both society in general and individuals can take action to increase physical activity. 
In 2013, WHO Member States agreed to a target of reducing insufficient physical acti-
vity by 10 % by 2025 and included strategies to achieve this goal in the „Global Action 
Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases 2013-2020“. Slo-
venia should also adhere to this action plan. 

FUNDING
The study had no accessional financial support.

ETHICAL APPROVAL

Written informed consent was obtained from all tested students

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