ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF FARTLEK TRAINING ON PERCEIVED WELLNESS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF SAUDI ARABIA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Wellness is described as positive health of an individual as indicated by the quality of life and a sense of well-being. This research aimed to assess the effect of supervised fartlek training on Perceived Wellness of University Students of Saudi Arabia. A sample of forty students enrolled in various courses of KFUPM was selected for the study; the mean age was 18.52 ± 0.599 years. Two groups were formed randomized into intervention (n=20) employed 16 weeks of supervised whistled fartlek training program and control group (n = 20) carried out their daily task and did not participate in any exercise program. The training session was conducted twice a week, and the duration of each session lasted for 45 min. All students were administered the Perceived Wellness Survey to assess their wellness. Subjects involved in regular physical activity for last 6 months were included for the study; obese students (BMI≥ 30 kg/m²) and who are on serious illness and medication, suffered cardio-vascular problems were excluded. At baseline demographic data for all the participants were collected, including age, height, weight, how often engaged in physical activity. The statistical tool employed was an analysis of covariance to find out if any significant difference between groups after 16 weeks of supervised training. Wellness factors exhibited higher mean scores on the post-intervention group. Significant differences were observed after 16 weeks of fartlek training on psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness. Wellness composite scores improved significantly in the intervention group. Fartlek training program effectively improved the total wellness of undergraduate students.