Habits and attitudes of first-year female students at Warmia and Mazury University: a call for implementing health education programme at universities.

SUMMARYIntroduction: Entering university frequently brings about considerable changes in the students' lifestyle, which often affect negatively their health. Therefore, it seems to be of great importance to promote pro-health habits and attitudes particularly among 1st-year-students and thus, it is necessary to accurately assess their lifestyles and needs in this regard.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the habits and attitudes towards healthy lifestyle of 762 first-year female students enrolled at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn so as to detect health risks and ultimately present the need for remedial measures.Methods: Female students were randomly selected from all the groups attending obligatory physical education classes. The students filled in an anonymous questionnaire, which contained questions referring to their physical activity, nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, and stress.Results: The research demonstrated a worrisome picture of the students' habits and attitudes with regard to health. It showed that the female students took keener interest in daily body care than in proper nutrition and an adequate level of physical activity. What is also alarming is the excessive amount of alcohol they consumed on a regular basis.Conclusions: The research findings call for a specially designed pro-health programme to be implemented during the time of the studies in order to raise the female students' awareness of leading a health-conscious lifestyle.Key words: attitudes towards health, opinions and habits, university, female students, PolandINTRODUCTIONThe role and significance of the intelligentsia in the economic and social development of the country has been emphasized in a number of scientific studies. However, there are few papers exposing the role of the intelligentsia in promoting health culture by shaping the right attitudes towards the proper requirements of individual and public health care (1). In some countries including Poland, having a university degree is still relatively uncommon, and thus it is usually a mark of very high prestige in the immediate environment. Additionally, this social group breeds the highest number of political and administrative executives. Therefore, it can be rightly assumed that they will largely influence the scale of progress in the development of social needs and rational patterns of a healthy lifestyle. A stage through to meet these expectations is a period of study in institutions of higher education.Facts about the changes in health-related behaviour of students are fairly well documented in the scientific literature including the aspects such as: their physical activity, nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, and stress. Students' behaviour with respect to the above factors gives rise to many objections and concerns in the prospect of their future.Physical ActivityAccording to the norms of a person's daily physical activity established by the United States (2) and the World Health Organization (3), students can be plainly classified as a group of physically inactive individuals (4) with a strong tendency to a sedentary and consumption-oriented lifestyle, which is in sharp contrast to their overtly declared positive attitude towards physical education (5).NutritionAccording to the scientific data, obesity rates in the economically developed countries have dramatically increased over the past 30 years. This negative phenomenon was observed in the United States (6), Great Britain (7), France (8), and even Finland (9), the inhabitants of which are regarded as the most physically active people in Europe (10). Incidence rates indicate that the time of the greatest increase in individuals' overweight and obesity occurs at the age between 18 and 29 (11). Students of higher education in particular appear to be even more prone to weight gain than those who stay out of university (12). …