Fysisk aktivitet = psykisk stabilitet?
En undersökning om relationen mellan mängden fysisk aktivitet och självupplevd hälsa
AimThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-perceived health and level of physical activity among the staff at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). We focused on the following questions:How does the amount of physical activity affect the self-perceived health among the staff at GIH? Are there any gender differences in self-perceived health following the amount of physical activity? Do the self-perceived health and the amount of physical activity differ between the various age groups? Are there any differences between the staff responsible for health education compared with the other staff?MethodWe chose a validated questionnaire for our study. It was a combination of two already previously validated questionnaires together with our own supplementary background questions. The questionnaire was presented to 96 respondents and we received 76 answers. Full anonymity was warranted for all respondents. Throughout the evaluation process we have applied the Aaron Antonovskys KASAM-theory.ResultsThe following significant results were found:? There was a high score for self-perceived health among those with a high level of physical activity.? A higher physical activity score related to a higher self-perceived physical health.? Staff responsible for health education had a higher score for physical activity.? A high self-perceived mental health correlated to a low self-perceived physical health.ConclusionsOur results correspond well to other published studies i.e. a higher level of physical activity gave a better self-perceived total health score as well as physical health score. Physical activity seems to be one major reason behind the experience of good health. We also found that a high self-perceived mental health corresponded to a surprisingly low self-perceived physical health score.