Abstract
This study was aimed at evaluating the awareness of the relationship of health and exercise and the actual daily habits of Korean high school students. The research subjects were 386 male and 233 female second-year high school students. The survey consisted of 39 questions related to their awareness of health and exercise and their daily life habits as well as 10 questions related to encouraging physical activity. A five point scale system was used ranging from 1 point (least desirable) to 5 points (most desirable). The questions related to health and exercise tended to achieve higher scores, whereas questions related to actual physical activities tended to have lower scores. Questions related to the effectiveness of regular meals, cessation of smoking and no drinking and how they are related to health issues achieved relatively high scores. Male students displayed higher scores than female students on most questions. However, on questions that associated low activity levels and weight problems, female students achieved higher scores. High school students put low emphasis on physical activities, although they have a high-level awareness of the association of health and exercise. Interestingly, female students displayed a higher interest level in associating low physical activity and weight problems.
