EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Objective: to determine the effects of physical activity on quality of life among female undergraduate students. Material & Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on n=52 female students, after taking approval from higher authorities of the Bilquis Postgraduate College for Women PAF Nur Khan Base Rawalpindi, The inactive female students >1monthbetween 18-25 years were included in the study. The participants were randomly divided into three groups, such as Light Physical Activity (LPA), Moderate Physical Activity (MPA) and Vigorous Physical activity (VPA) group. The short form (SF-36) was used to observe Quality of Life (QOL), among participant at baseline and after six weeks of intervention. The One Way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post hoc was applied on mean differences for comparison. The clinical significance eta squared (η2) was used. Results: The result showed that Role limitation (mental) was significantly improved in vigorous activity group than the light (MD=21.20, d=0.85, 95% CI=0.97 to 43.37) and moderate (MD=23.94, d=0.96 95% CI=4.05 to 43.83) activity group. While social function showed significant improvement in moderate activity group as compared to light (MD=15.30, d=1.01, 95% CI=3.83 to 26.76) activity and vigorous (MD=9.60, d=0.63, 95% CI=1.68 to 20.88) activity group. The pain also showed significant improvement in moderate activity as compared to light (MD=20.32, d=1.09, 95% CI=5.48 to 35.16) and vigorous (MD=21.97, d=1.18, 95% CI=9.67 to 34.26) activity group. Conclusion: PA significantly improved QOL of female undergraduate students. It was also found that VPA improves role limitation (emotional) while MPA improves social function and body pain.