Abstract Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of various forms of physical activity (PA) among female students in physical education (PE) programs offered by universities in Poland, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. Methods: Two hundred full-time female university students (mean age: 19.93±0.82) enrolled in various PA programs. The participants’ anthropometric traits were measured, and their body composition parameters were determined with the InBody analyzer. Based on the students’ physiological parameters, the effectiveness of various types of PA was measured with Suunto Ambit3 peak heart rate monitors during 60 minutes of physical exertion. Results: The average values of body mass index (BMI), body fat mass (BFM), percent body fat (PBF), waist-hip ratio (WHR), visceral fat level (VFL), and obesity degree were significantly (p<0.05) lower among students who participated in jogging followed by sauna (JFBS), performed martial arts and attended general physical education (PE) classes. Physiological parameters were the highest in the martial art group, followed by JFBS and swimming groups, and they were significantly (p<0.05) higher than the values recorded in other PA groups (golf, aerobics, general PE classes, cycling, and individual training). Physiological parameters were significantly (p<0.05) lower among students who played golf and trained individually. Conclusions: Martial arts, JFBS, and swimming were the most effective types of PA among female university students. Students performing martial arts and JFBS had relatively lower body fat levels, whereas students who practiced swimming had the highest body fat levels in the population sample.

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to comprehensively examine oxygen uptake (V̇O2) kinetics during cycling through mathematical modeling of the breath-by-breath gas exchange responses across eight conditions of unloaded cycling to moderate to high-intensity exercise. Methods: Following determination of GET and V̇O2peak, eight participants (age: 24±8y; height: 1.78±0.09m; mass: 76.5±10.1kg; V̇O2peak: 3.89±0.72 L.min-1) completed a series of square-wave rest-to-exercise transitions at; -20%∆ (GET minus 20% of the difference in V̇O2 between that at GET and VO2peak), -10%∆, GET, 10%∆, 20%∆, 30%∆, 40%∆, and 50%∆. The V̇O2 kinetic response was modelled using mono- and bi-exponential non-linear regression techniques. The difference in the standard error of the estimates (SEE) for the mono- and bi-exponential models, and the slope of V̇O2 vs time (for the final minute of exercise) were analysed using paired and one-sample t-tests, respectively. Results: The bi-exponential model SEE was lower than the mono-exponential model across all exercise intensities (p<0.05), indicating a better model fit. Steady-state V̇O2 was achieved across all exercise intensities (all V̇O2 vs. time slopes; p>0.05). The modelled slow component time constants, typical of literature reported values, indicated that the V̇O2 kinetic response would not be completed during the duration of the exercise. Conclusion: It was shown that the addition of the more complex bi-exponential model resulted in a better model fit across all intensities (notably including sub-GET intensities). The slow component phase was incomplete in all cases, even when the investigation of slopes indicated that a steady state had been achieved.