Vital values and physical activity of future teachers

Purpose The key determinant of health, defined in the holistic model as a dynamic process aiming at psycho-physiological balance, is lifestyle. Values, as an integrated part of people’s beliefs, exert a significant influence on their behaviour, choices, development of identity, and interpretation of situations. The purpose of this study was to determine the place of vital values within the system of values, and to analyse the relationship between the place of vital values and the level of physical activity in future teachers. Methods The study was conducted among a randomly selected group of 486 students, including 416 women (85.60%) and 70 men (14.40%) (mean age: 23.39 years). A short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess the level of physical activity. The Scheler Value Scale (SVS) served to evaluate the place of vital values in the students’ hierarchy of values. Results It was found that students respected moral and truth values the most, while vital values the least. The respondents were most likely to undertake moderate physical activity, with more men than women declaring a high level of physical activity and less often a moderate level. The more the students respected vital values, the more often they undertook physical activity. Conclusions The results have shown that more attention should be given to axiological education in order to enhance vital values in the hierarchy of values among future teachers.