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Effect of Physical Activity Education on Sedentary Behaviour among University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour is an important public health concern among university students because of increasing academic demands, prolonged sitting during lectures and study periods, extensive screen use, transportation patterns, and recreational activities involving smartphones, computers, television, and other digital devices. Prolonged sedentary behaviour has been associated with reduced physical fitness and increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and other adverse health outcomes. Physical activity education provides university students with information about the health benefits of regular physical activity, recommended activity levels, the health risks associated with prolonged sitting, strategies for reducing sitting time, active transportation, exercise opportunities, movement breaks, and practical ways of incorporating physical activity into academic and daily routines. Sedentary behaviour refers to waking activities characterized by low energy expenditure while sitting, reclining, or lying down, including prolonged sitting during lectures, studying, screen-based activities, transportation, and leisure. Among university students in Nigeria, sedentary behaviour may be influenced by academic workload, limited recreational facilities, digital-device use, transportation habits, environmental constraints, and inadequate awareness of the health consequences of prolonged sitting. Effective physical activity education may improve students' knowledge and awareness and encourage them to reduce sedentary time and incorporate more movement into their daily routines. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of physical activity education on sedentary behaviour among university students in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model provides a framework for understanding students' decisions to reduce sedentary behaviour through perceived susceptibility to health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of reducing sitting time, perceived barriers, and cues to action. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, environmental conditions, and physical activity behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how physical activity education may improve students' knowledge and attitudes and influence sedentary behaviour. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how physical activity education may influence sedentary behaviour among university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from undergraduate students in selected Nigerian universities using a structured self-administered questionnaire and a standardized physical activity and sedentary-behaviour assessment instrument. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select universities, faculties or departments, academic levels, and eligible students. Where feasible, selected student groups or university settings will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Students in the intervention group will receive structured physical activity education covering the health benefits of regular physical activity, recommended physical activity levels, risks associated with prolonged sedentary behaviour, strategies for reducing sitting time, active transportation, movement breaks, exercise opportunities, and practical ways of integrating physical activity into academic and leisure activities. Sedentary behaviour will be assessed using indicators such as daily sitting time, duration of screen-based sedentary activities, prolonged sitting during academic activities, recreational screen time, transportation-related sitting, and frequency of movement breaks. Where feasible, self-reported sedentary behaviour will be complemented by activity diaries, wearable activity monitors, or other objective measures where resources permit. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity knowledge, activity patterns, screen use, and sedentary-behaviour measures. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of physical activity education on sedentary behaviour. Where appropriate, sedentary behaviour before and after the intervention will be compared. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instruments, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that physical activity education has a significant negative effect on sedentary behaviour among university students in Nigeria, indicating that increased exposure to physical activity education is associated with reduced sedentary time. Students exposed to structured physical activity education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of the health consequences of prolonged sitting and greater awareness of practical strategies for incorporating movement into their daily routines. Education may encourage students to take regular movement breaks, reduce recreational screen time, use active transportation where feasible, participate in recreational physical activities, and avoid prolonged uninterrupted sitting during academic activities. Practical demonstrations and campus-based activity programmes are expected to strengthen students' confidence and ability to translate physical activity knowledge into daily behaviour. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained reductions in sedentary behaviour because students may continue to experience barriers such as heavy academic workloads, extensive computer use, limited recreational facilities, transportation patterns, safety concerns, and insufficient supportive environments. Consequently, physical activity education may be most effective when supported by accessible recreational facilities, active-campus initiatives, opportunities for movement during academic activities, safe walking environments, and university policies that promote active lifestyles. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on physical activity education, sedentary behaviour, university student health, health promotion, exercise behaviour, non-communicable disease prevention, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, sports and recreation departments, public health practitioners, health educators, physical activity professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for reducing sedentary behaviour among young adults. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating physical activity education into university health programmes, promoting movement breaks during prolonged academic activities, improving access to recreational facilities, encouraging active transportation, reducing excessive recreational screen time, and creating supportive university environments that promote regular physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour among Nigerian university students.

Keywords: Physical activity education, sedentary behaviour, university students, Nigeria, physical activity, health education, sitting time, screen time, exercise behaviour, university health, health promotion, non-communicable disease prevention, healthy lifestyle, public health.