The impact of university students' enjoyment of physical activities on the culture of being healthy

This study aims to examine the effect of university students' enjoyment of physical activities on the health culture. To achieve this, a relational survey model within the scope of the survey method was used. The population of the study consists of students studying at Amasya University during the 2024-2025 academic year, while the sample group includes 705 university students. As data collection tools, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES), adapted into Turkish by Özkurt, Küçükibiş, and Eskiler (2022), and the Healthism Scale, adapted into Turkish by Uğraş, Özen, Aykora, and Yurdakul (2021), were used. As a result of the analysis of the obtained data, it was determined that male participants had higher total scores for enjoyment of physical activities and the health culture scale (and its sub-dimensions) compared to female participants. It was also found that participants with higher incomes had higher total scores for enjoyment of physical activities and the judgment sub-dimension of the health culture scale compared to those with lower incomes. Additionally, it was concluded that as age increased, there was an increase in the total scores for enjoyment of physical activities and the total and sub-dimension scores of the health culture scale. Furthermore, it was found that students in the 3rd and 4th years had higher total scores for enjoyment of physical activities and the judgment sub-dimension of the health culture scale compared to other participants. As a result, the study found a statistically significant positive relationship at a medium and weak level between the total scores for enjoyment of physical activities and the total and sub-dimension scores of the health culture scale. Indeed, this result indicates that more encouraging measures need to be taken to enhance the positive impact of physical activity on individuals' quality of life.