Background: As physical activity is beneficial for overall health, regular surveillance is

Background: As physical activity is beneficial for overall health, regular surveillance is essential among the populace. In India, there is a paucity of data regarding physical activity. The present study was aimed to explore the prevalence, patterns and associated factors of physical activity in university students. Methods: A total of 255 students were interviewed using IPAQ long form. Demographic data including age, height, weight, stay and place of residence was self-reported by subjects. PA levels were presented as median and percentages. Chi-square test was employed to estimate the association between the categorical variables. Results: In the overall sample, 11.37% were inactive, 73.73% were moderately active and 14.9% were found to be highly active. Walking was identified as a major contributor in females while vigorous activity contributed maximally in males. The Leisure-time domain was observed as major contributor and work domain was the least contributor to the total PA levels. Significant associations were seen between physical activity and independent factors such as gender, Stay and BMI. Conclusions: Majority of university students had moderate levels of physical activity. What is new? This study explores a new fact that being a hostler is significantly associated with low levels of physical activity among university students.

The study was intended to examine the relationship of physical activity levels with selected physical parameters viz. power, speed, legs explosive power, handgrip strength, upper body strength, abdominal strength and flexibility among the school children of age 11-12 years. A sample of 60 male children was selected using purposive sampling technique. Data was collected by administering physical fitness tests and a self-reported questionnaire was used to assess physical activity levels. Data was analyzed by employing bivariate correlation, putting alpha level at 0.05. It was found that physical activity levels has significant relationship with power, speed, leg's explosive strength, endurance, upper body strength and abdominal strength (p< 0.05).

Background: The environmental factors lead to changes in the physical fitness level among children. The objective of the present study was to compare the physical fitness parameters of the rural and urban children from Punjab. Methods: Total 60 children (30 rural and 30 urban) 12 years old were selected to participate in the study. All the subjects were measured for various physical fitness parameters. The speed ability was measured with the help of 30 meter sprint (Flying Start). The endurance of the rural and urban children was assessed with the help of 800 meter run. Sit and reach test was used to assess the flexibility of the children. The standing broad jump and standing vertical jump were applied to measure the explosive strength. The grip strength was measured with the help of hand dynamometer. The medicine ball put was used to measure the strength of arms. Results: The independent samples t-test revealed that the rural children were found to have significantly greater speed (p<0.05), standing broad jump (p<0.05), grip strength of both left (p<0.05) and right (p<0.05) hand than the urban children. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the rural children were better in some physical fitness parameters.

Background: Association between physical activity and mental health has been well

Recovery practices have become increasingly popular with high performance athletes over the last 20 years. As training and competition demands have increased athletes have attempted to avoid overtraining, overuse, and burnout problems associated with heavy workloads. Recovery is part of the supercompensation methodology and is intended to enhance adaptation to training stress through the recognition and management of fatigue. Fatigue is a natural response to training and stress and as such it is an essential part of the human adaptive process. However the broad range of physiological, cognitive, and emotional states integral to human performances have meant that sport scientists have struggled to provide a universally accepted definition of fatigue. The fatigue experienced by an athlete stems from training and performance environments as well as individual lifestyle situations. The selection of appropriate recovery strategies by an athlete or coach often depends on experiential or a...

The purpose of the study was to compare the anthropometric characteristics and somatotype of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar's male basketball players and volleyball players. Sixty three sportspersons (volleyball=36 and basketball=27) of age group 18-25 years were selected from different colleges affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India. All the participants were assessed for height, weight, breadths, girths and skin fold thickness. An independent samples t-test revealed that basketball players had significantly higher height (p<0.01), weight (p<0.01) and body surface area (p<0.01) as compared to volleyball players. The basketball players were also found to have significantly greater biceps (p<0.01) and suprailliac (p<0.01) skin fold thicknesses, calf circumference (p<0.05), percent body fat (p<0.01), total body fat (p<0.01), fat free mass (p<0.05) and endomorphic component (p<0.05) as compared to volleyball players. Volleyball players had significantly greater body density (p<0.01) as compared to basketball players. The basketball and volleyball players of this study were found to have higher percentage body fat with lower body height and body weight than their international counterparts. Further investigations are needed on the above studied variables along with fitness and physiological variables to assess relationships among them and with performances in volleyball and basketball.