Physical Activity of University Students Faced with Access Restrictions - An Evidence from Poland

Humans need physical effort in order keep a mental and physical balance. Today, it usually takes the form of physical activities they perform in their free time which, however, faced considerable limitations caused by COVID-19. Therefore, the authors decided to see the way university students exercised physical activity when dealing with multiple restrictions entailed by the pandemic. This topic was explored through a Web-based survey administered to 1260 students of several tens of Polish universities. The analysis used the t-test and the chi-square independence test. As shown by the results, consistent physical activity was more frequently exercised by men. Usually, the interviewees opted for moderate-intensity activities. Walking and simple fitness exercises, i.e. something they could perform in their everyday environment and could continue when in the lockdown, were the most popular forms of recreation. Rather than health risks related to being directly exposed to COVID-19, restricted access to sports facilities and lack of time proved to be the key problems. The most interesting conclusion is that the pandemic turned out to be an incentive for an even greater activity for those students who had already been engaged in consistent physical exercises.