Physical activity levels and health-related quality of life in young Italian population.

AIM: Significant levels of physical activity (PA) have benefit in reducing chronic diseases in the general adults, but little is known on the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and PA levels among young population. This study aims to investigate the association between different levels of PA and HRQoL in a random sample of 155 Italian University students (age range: 18-30 years old).

METHODS: We used the short version of IPAQ and SF-36 to assess PA levels and HRQoL, respectively. Differences in HRQoL scores between the three IPAQ categories (low, moderate and high) were evaluated by the analysis of covariance (with age and BMI as covariates). Forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the most predictive variables for a good HRQoL.

RESULTS: A significant relationship between PA (Kcal/week and METs/week) and Physical Functioning, Role Physical, General Health, and Physical Summary Component scores was observed in women, while the Role Physical, and the Vitality were associated with PA in men. The amount of PA (day/week, Kcal/week and METs/week) significantly predicted the HRQoL scores and the variance explained by the function ranged from 5.75% to 14.24% for women and from 5.41% to 10.95% for men. The regular frequency of PA during the week was the most important positive predictors for the highest scores in most of HRQoL domains.

CONCLUSION: Our results confirm that the highest PA Levels were associated with more favorable scores in HRQoL dimensions, also among young Italian population.