Abstract
Background: This study aims to assess the relationships between alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical activity (PA) and demographic characteristics in Romanian students. Methods: There were 253 participants in this study (112 male and 141 female, age 19.2 ± 0.70 yrs; BMI 22.4 ± 2.2 kg/m2), students of Transilvania University of Brasov. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were employed for the data collection. Results: Results showed that moderate consumption of tobacco and harmful consumption of alcohol had high prevalence among age, gender, year of study and PA level categories. Although the correlation coefficient showed no significant relationship between tobacco and alcohol use, it was shown that a negative correlation between tobacco and PA level existed. Further, age, year of study and PA level had a negative significant relationship with alcohol use among students. In the end, the tobacco and alcohol consumption prediction model showed heterogeneous coefficients. Conclusion: Full models of tobacco and alcohol use were differently predicted by variables, so PAL (Physical Activity Level) could predict tobacco consumption but not alcohol.
Highlights
It is well known that low levels of physical activity (PA) or the lack of PA can lead to a remarkable increase in risk factors [1]
Our findings were consistent with El Ansari et al [30], Dawson et al [31], Von Bothmer et al [32] and Lorente et al [33]. They showed that female students had a lower consumption of alcohol, whereas male students engaged in more risky health behaviors than their counterparts
This research concludes that moderate consumption of tobacco and harmful consumption of alcohol had high prevalence among age, gender, year of study and PA level categories
Summary
It is well known that low levels of physical activity (PA) or the lack of PA can lead to a remarkable increase in risk factors [1]. The World Health Organization recommends 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic PA throughout the week or 75 min of vigorous-intensity aerobic PA throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity, in relation to PA and its benefits on health in adults [3,4] In this regard, PA has positive effects on health [5,6], as it builds strong muscles and joints, it reduces the risk of developing certain chronic diseases [7,8,9], it raises self-esteem and confidence and it reduces stress and anxiety [4,10]. Several studies confirmed that academic performance is improved when theoretical classes are reduced in order to increase attendance to classes of physical education [3,8,9,14,15]. This study aims to assess the relationships between alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical activity (PA) and demographic characteristics in Romanian students
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