Where, when, how, and with whom do young university students engage in physical activity? A cluster-derived spectrum of patterns across 16 European universities

@article{llena2026where,
  title = {{Where, when, how, and with whom do young university students engage in physical activity? A cluster-derived spectrum of patterns across 16 European universities}},
  author = {Clément Llena and Louise Fermon and Søren Andkjær and Audran Aulanier and Félix Berrigan and Nico Bortoletto and Mário Jorge Costa and Yvonne Delevoye-Turrell and Thibaut Derigny and Olivier Dieu and Murielle Garcin and Joseph Gandrieau and Ricardo Jorge Fernandes and Libor Flemr and Christopher Fullerton and Hee Jung Hong and Aurore Huchez and Isabelle Joing and Vanessa Lentillon-Kaestner and Alexis Mauger and Barbara Mazza and Léa Mekkaoui and Enrico Michelini and Annette Michelsen la Cour and Alexandre Mouton and Przemysław Nosal and Pedro R. Olivares and Bjørn Harald Olstad and Marek Rejman and Susana Soares and João Paulo Vilas-Boas and Tobias Vogt and Alessandro Porrovecchio and François Potdevin},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0360751},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360751},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Where, when, how, and with whom do young university students engage in physical activity? A cluster-derived spectrum of patterns across 16 European universities
AU  - Clément Llena
AU  - Louise Fermon
AU  - Søren Andkjær
AU  - Audran Aulanier
AU  - Félix Berrigan
AU  - Nico Bortoletto
AU  - Mário Jorge Costa
AU  - Yvonne Delevoye-Turrell
AU  - Thibaut Derigny
AU  - Olivier Dieu
AU  - Murielle Garcin
AU  - Joseph Gandrieau
AU  - Ricardo Jorge Fernandes
AU  - Libor Flemr
AU  - Christopher Fullerton
AU  - Hee Jung Hong
AU  - Aurore Huchez
AU  - Isabelle Joing
AU  - Vanessa Lentillon-Kaestner
AU  - Alexis Mauger
AU  - Barbara Mazza
AU  - Léa Mekkaoui
AU  - Enrico Michelini
AU  - Annette Michelsen la Cour
AU  - Alexandre Mouton
AU  - Przemysław Nosal
AU  - Pedro R. Olivares
AU  - Bjørn Harald Olstad
AU  - Marek Rejman
AU  - Susana Soares
AU  - João Paulo Vilas-Boas
AU  - Tobias Vogt
AU  - Alessandro Porrovecchio
AU  - François Potdevin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/04
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0360751
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360751
AB  - Young adults are particularly at risk of dropping out of physical activity (PA). European policies have addressed this issue by promoting PA and encouraging better monitoring of PA through standardized and specific measures of its quantity. The current paper used an ecological approach that considers interrelated determinants at the individual, social, environmental, and policy levels to survey 2,165 undergraduate students (65.3% female) aged 18–25 years from 16 universities via an online questionnaire as part of the “How Young People in Europe Move” (HYPEM) project. A cluster analysis of mixed data was performed to identify profiles of sport and PA participation among undergraduates from 12 European countries and to examine their associations with individual and contextual characteristics. The results showed that individual and contextual characteristics were associated with spatial, temporal, social, intensity-related, and equipment-related dimensions of PA participation. Additionally, space, time and equipment were key variables for profiling students. Furthermore, the cluster analysis revealed three typologies of student sports and PA participation: ‘Autonomous’, ‘Networked Supervised’, and ‘Regularly Supervised’. These profiles suggest that undergraduate students engage in PA through various formats, ranging from flexible, self-organized practices to more structured, supervised forms of participation. Differences were also observed across participating institutions, indicating that contextual factors should be considered when interpreting these exploratory profiles. These profiles may help generate hypotheses about how university PA opportunities could be designed and evaluated in future prospective and intervention studies.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -