Perceived Influence of Leisure Time Physical Activities on the Promotion of Health among Retired Civil Servants in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State

Abstract

Promoting physical activity has been identified as a key public health strategy to improve good health in advanced age. Many individuals may not engage in sufficient physical activity due to low perceived benefits. This study investigated the perceived influence of Leisure Time Physical Activities (LTPA) on the promotion of health of Retired Civil Servants in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population comprised 1,865 retired civil servants who are registered and are attending the monthly meeting of the Association of Retired Civil Servants. A sample of 329 was drawn from the above population using the Taro Yamane formula. A questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.79 was the instrument for data collection. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using the t-Tests and ANOVA. A criterion mean of 2.50 was set. The results revealed that the respondents demonstrated high level of perception of the positive influence of LTPA on life enhancement (× ̅=3.24), physical performance (× ̅=2.64), ones psychological outlook (× ̅=2.58), social interaction (× ̅=2.61), and preventive health (× ̅=2.56). The findings of the study also revealed that there is significant difference between male and female retired civil servants on perceived influence of LTPA on promotion of health (t-cal. = 2.93, p = .004). The result also showed that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of the respondents based on age (F cal. = .610, p ˃ .05). The researchers recommend that interventions could help increase the perception of the retired female civil servants of the need for LTPA in their lives.