Students’ job-related physical condition. How fit are they ?

Abstract Objectives: To establish the physical condition of “Aurel Vlaicu” Arad University' students, in relation with declared weekly physical activity, assuming that there are statistically significant differences between BMI, recreational physical activities and performances of the monitored samples according to physical condition standards data. Subjects. A number of 1169 students were evaluated, male (n=539), female (n=630), with gender median age: male 22.55y ± 5.59y, female 21.61y ± 4.87y. Methods: Anthropometric parameters (height, weight, BMI) were measured. Also, the following tests were performed: running speed (S), standing long jump (LJ), pushup (P), trunk lift (TL), Home Step Test (HST); and questionnaire DWPA (declared weekly physical activities). The data was processed with SPSS 14.0 for Windows and MedCalc. Results: By associating the declared weekly exercise with cardiovascular capacity, we found that although there is a positive correlation, for the results of the HST and the frequency of the declared weekly exercise this correlation is insignificant. Conclusions: Those who tend to exercise for more than twice a week have small cardiovascular endurance and low level motor skills. This suggests that exercise intensity is inadequate and does not lead to morphological and functional adaptive changes in the cardiopulmonary system, nor do they improve the students’ motor skills. The absence of proper physical condition, in addition to the mostly sedentary nature of future graduates’, jobs increases the risk of occurrence of diseases associated with physical inactivity.