Prevalence and patterns of sedentary behaviours among University of Dar es Salaam students

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour is rising among university students because of lifestyle changes, modernisation, and academic demands. This paper examined the prevalence and patterns of sedentary behaviour among the University of Dar es Salaam students in Tanzania. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. Using a simple random sampling technique, the study involved 600 students studying various degree programmes from the School of Education. The researchers collected data using questionnaires and analysed them using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicate that social networking emerged as the most prevalent activity, followed by academic activities, while board and card games were the least prevalent. Bachelor of Education in Commerce students reported the highest engagement in SB compared with other degree programmes. Younger students engaged in digital activities, whereas older students preferred non-digital activities. Conclusively, sedentary behaviour prevalence varies across degree programmes and age cohorts. Therefore, students need to control social networking chatting time and replace it with physical activity.