The Role of Well-Being as a Value in Students’ Health-Conscious Lifestyles in the Context of the Role of Daily Physical Education

Abstract The Geneva Charter for Well-being (2021) states that for the health and well-being of the planet, society, community and individuals, we must support changes in social structures that help people take control of their own lives and health. The crisis of sport and health as values may also indirectly affect the value preferences of the younger generation regarding their lifestyle choices and the vision of society. The research investigates the impact of value transfer beyond the apparent boundaries of sport on the lifestyle and well-being of university students who regularly participate in sport and those who are physically passive. 1521 students learning at the University of Debrecen and the University of Nyíregyháza completed our online questionnaire, which integrated questions on socio-demographic background, physical health status, mental status, stress workload, risk index, physical activity index, eating patterns and value preferences. Univariate and multivariate analysis methods were applied. Our study values suggest an increasing search for a sense of safety in the age group, independent of sporting activity (this may also raise questions about the social background of the disadvantaged region). Our results show that students mainly emphasised the “open” or post-material value dimension of individual autonomy in the relationship between sports activity and value orientation. A complex mechanism of action can be experienced when examining value orientations, so we cannot show any causal links in our analysis. This study highlights the complex relationships between personal values and health behaviours among university students. It reveals that material, traditional and autonomy-oriented values influence health perceptions and certain lifestyle choices The relevance and novelty of our study is that the new generation of students who have already participated in the new implementation process in physical education and who have already been involved in the public education system has not yet been studied from this point of view.