Effects of technological device usage time on body composition, physical activity level and physical activity participation motivation in young women

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of technological device usage times on body composition, physical activity level and motivation to participate in physical activity in young women. The participant group of this study consists of 427 female students with an average age of 21.57 ± 2.59 studying at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. In our study, height length (cm), body weight (kg), and body mass index (BMI) measurements were taken. Physical activity level was determined by pedometer, and the Participants' Physical Activity Participation Motivation Scale (PALMS) was applied. SPSS 23 package program was used to analyse the data. The average height of the subjects participating in the study was 1.63 ± 6.19 m, body weight was 56.34 ± 7.51 kg, BMI was 20.96 ± 2.63. The average hours of the group who are obese in television watching, and computer usage periods are higher. According to the BMI, there was no significant difference in the number of physical activity steps. When the physical activity level and the motivation to participate in physical activity were compared, there was no difference in the individual causes and causality sub-dimension, however, there was a significant difference in the environmental causes sub-dimension at p < 0.05 level. Again, a positive correlation was found between personal reasons and the duration of watching television, among the sub-dimensions of motivation to participate in physical activity. A negative correlation was found between smartphone usage time and physical activity level. While the time spent on the phone increases, the physical activity level decreases. As a result, it is thought that the use of technological devices has negative effects on body composition and physical activity level.

Keywords: Woman, body composition, physical activity.

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