Conference Agenda

Background: Health during young adulthood is strongly influenced by the daily balance between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. The twenty-four-hour movement behaviour framework integrates these components into a single model of health. However, limited comparative data exist on adherence to these recommendations among university students in Central Europe.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,611 university students aged 18–29 years from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Long Form, while sleep duration was self-reported. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to examine gender and country differences.

Results: Overall, 44.24% of students met the physical activity recommendation, 82.27% complied with the sedentary behaviour guideline, and 85.43% achieved the recommended sleep duration. However, only 26.92% of participants met all three components simultaneously. Significant differences between countries were observed for physical activity (p < 0.001) and sleep duration (p = 0.025), whereas sedentary behaviour (p = 0.147) and overall adherence to the integrated recommendations (p = 0.351) did not differ significantly across countries.

Conclusions: A relatively small proportion of university students demonstrate balanced daily movement behaviours. Universities and public health stakeholders should implement integrated strategies—such as active campus environments, reduced sedentary learning formats, and sleep health promotion—to support healthier behavioural patterns and long-term wellbeing among students. The research was funded by the project International Visegrad Fund under the Visegrad Grants programme (Agreement number 22420149).