Assessment of sedentary behavior and physical activity of college students

The purpose of the study is to assess the level of sedentary (passive) behavior among college students based on objective data and students' self-assessment of their lifestyle, as well as to analyze the reasons that contribute to reduced physical activity from the students' perspective. Research methods and organization. The study was conducted anonymously using the Yandex platform among first- to third-year students of the Ural State University of Economics, employing a specially designed closed-ended questionnaire. The evaluation of the surveys was carried out by averaging the results across a representative sample. Research results and conclusions. The conducted study demonstrates that most university students exhibit passive (sedentary) behavior with low levels of physical activity, accounting for 83-92% of their total time. Moreover, physical activity indicators decrease from the first to the third year, which was also noted by the survey participants themselves. Among the reasons for low physical activity, the most significant were identified as social media engagement, academic and extracurricular work, as well as low intrinsic motivation and fatigue after classes. The obtained data should be taken into account when developing programs aimed at encouraging university students to adopt a healthy lifestyle, as social and psychological factors have a significant impact on the lifestyle of the younger generation.