Woo, my first 200-level class in BCM! I don’t have too much else to say, really

Contents:

Task 1: Pitch

Most students these days don’t get out much. In the age of the internet and demanding uni courses based entirely around our computers it seems obvious, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing. “Over 50% of the adult populations of industrialised countries are so inactive that they are at significantly increased risk for adverse long-term health outcomes” E. Leslie et.al. 2001, p.116. Tackling inactivity in adults has to start with kids, teens, and young adults, and a great time for it is in university, as we’re significantly more motivated to learn how to ‘adult’ and get free of our parents’ homes. 

In my research project, I want to look into just how Australian uni students are getting active (if at all), and what motivates them- specifically looking at community and competition. Do they go to the gym with friends to socialise and work out while they’re there? Do they compete with others in their circle to catch shiny Pokémon or find the most geocaches? Or do they use apps like Strava to compete with people from all over the world and push themselves further with their fitness? Using surveys to gather both qualitative (what do they do to stay active? How do they interact with the wider community around it?) and quantitative data from my BCM212 peers I want to look into a small group of uni students and learn about what can be done to improve the activity levels of everyone.

Finding motivation to be active is one of the biggest struggles when you could be doomscrolling instead. Studies are showing, however, that social and digital media “…motivates users of all fitness levels to exercise” and can produce some real results in activity levels, though “The effects of these programs, including the counseling, on physical activity, fitness and health requires further study.” Santtila, M et.al. 2014, pp.84-88. While I can’t gather data on the improvement of my classmates’ fitness further than what they report themselves, my work can bounce off that of larger-scale studies that have been done since this one in 2014, such as Kljajević, V. et.al. in Physical Activity and Physical Fitness among University Students—A Systematic Review (2022), a paper breaking down several studies from over the years and piecing together data from them to determine the extent of the problem. It showed that students who participated in sports were much fitter (p.18), which is additional cause to look into it within the scope of this project.

Overall, I believe this project is a worthwhile look into the activity levels of BCM students at UOW, and potentially a starting point for broader discussion within our cohort of community, activity, and fitness. Using both qualitative and quantitative data is important in my work to see both the number of people doing activities and what they’re doing, and while respecting my classmates’ privacy is the most important element of discussion, there’s a chance that people will feel more empowered to talk about what they do and find new friends within the degree when looking at my results.

Reference list

Goodyear, VA, Wood, G, Skinner, B & Thompson, JL 2021, ‘The effect of social media interventions on physical activity and dietary behaviours in young people and adults: a systematic review’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 1–18.

Kljajević, V, Stanković, M, Đorđević, D, Trkulja-Petković, D, Jovanović, R, Plazibat, K, Oršolić, M, Čurić, M & Sporiš, G 2021, ‘Physical Activity and Physical Fitness among University Students—A Systematic Review’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 158.

Santtila, M, Grönqvist, K, Räisänen, J & Kyröläinen, H 2014, ‘Impact on physical fitness of exercise promotion service utilizing social media’, Biomedical Human Kinetics, vol. 6, no. 1.

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Recruitment

Greetings, 212 students!
In my assessment task this semester, I’m researching how everyone stays active in their busy university lives- do you do classes at UniActive or another gym? Do you play sports, or games? Do you just like to go for a walk every day? I’m trying to find out just where everyone sits and how you stick with it, especially if the social element of these activities has an influence.

For my research, all I’ll need you to do is fill out a few surveys. I’ll include a few consent questions in the survey itself to clarify what information I need from you and why, and give you plenty of opportunities to opt out of additional emails.

As an additional (and important) element of safety, I need to advise that if you’re viewing this page but you’re not currently enrolled in BCM212 in the year 2025 semester 1, please do not respond to the survey. For ethical and various other reasons, we are not permitted to gather data from participants outside our class, and it’s vital to our grades and our research results that this rule is adhered to. If I showed you this page and you’re not in 212, no I didn’t. (or I did and I’m proud of all my pretty graphs and things).

I hope you have a great set of responses to your own projects, and I look forward to hearing back from you on mine!!
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at mf897@uowmail.edu.au, with the subject “Research questions/concerns”.

Happy surveying!