Direction of changes of physical activity in adolescents from Świętokrzyskie region against Poland-wide data

164 Probl Hig Epidemiol 2017, 98(2): 164-169 Direction of changes of physical activity in adolescents from Świętokrzyskie region against Poland-wide data Kierunki zmian aktywności fizycznej młodzieży w czasie wolnym z regionu świętokrzyskiego na tle danych ogólnopolskich Bożena Zawadzka Zakład Pedagogiki Zdrowia i Kultury Fizycznej, Instytut Pedagogiki i Psychologii, Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach Wprowadzenie. Aktywność fizyczna uprawiana na odpowiednim poziomie stymuluje rozwój i zdrowie dzieci i młodzieży, podtrzymuje go, przeciwdziała procesom inwolucyjnym we wszystkich obszarach zdrowia i życia. Cel. Ocena aktywności fizycznej o intensywnym wysiłku z wykorzystaniem wskaźnika VPA młodzieży 15-17-letniej z regionu świętokrzyskiego na tle ich rówieśników sprzed 15 lat oraz danych ogólnopolskich. Materiał i metoda. Badaniami objęto w 2011 r. 1422 uczniów w wieku 15-17 lat z regionu świętokrzyskiego. W badaniach wykorzystano metodę sondażu diagnostycznego, a jako narzędzie międzynarodowy kwestionariusz ankiety do badań zachowań zdrowotnych HBSC. Wyniki i wnioski. Badana młodzież z regionu świętokrzyskiego na tle danych ogólnopolskich (HBSC), dotyczących częstości i liczby godzin wykonywania ćwiczeń fizycznych o dużej intensywności w ciągu tygodnia, uzyskała lepsze wyniki. Korzystniejszy wynik dotyczy ćwiczeń do 3 razy w tygodniu; z taką częstotliwością ćwiczy 49,7% młodzieży świętokrzyskiej, gdy w Polsce jedynie 43,2%. Na zbliżonym poziomie jest odsetek młodzieży, która ćwiczy 4 razy w tygodniu i więcej: świętokrzyska 31,9%, ogólnopolska 30,0%. Zdecydowanie wyższy odsetek młodzieży w Polsce (26,8%) ćwiczy rzadziej niż raz w miesiącu, bądź wcale od młodzieży świętokrzyskiej (18,4%). W regionie świętokrzyskim zauważono odmienną tendencję uprawiania aktywności fizycznej poza zajęciami szkolnymi przez młodzież w aspekcie miejsca zamieszania niż podają inne źródła. W badaniach z 2011 r. wyższy odsetek młodzieży ze środowiska wiejskiego (18,9%) ćwiczy 4 razy i więcej w tygodniu niż młodzieży z miasta (13,1%). Słowa kluczowe: zdrowie, młodzież, aktywność fizyczna, kierunki zmian Introduction. Proper physical activity stimulates children s and adolescents development and health status, counteracts involutional processes in all aspects of health and life. Aim. To evaluate physical activity of intense effort with the use of VPA indicator among teenagers at the age of 15-17 years from the Świętokrzyskie region against the results of their peers from 15 years ago and the Poland-wide data. Material & Methods. The research conducted in 2011 concerned 1422 pupils at the age of 15-17 years from the Świętokrzyskie region. A diagnostic survey method was used, and as a tool an international questionnaire concerning health behavior in school-aged children HBSC was employed. Results & Conclusions. Young people from the Świętokrzyskie region achieved better results as compared to the Poland-wide data (HBSC), with regard to the frequency and number of hours of physical exercise of great intensity performed weekly. Better results were noted with exercises up to 3 times per week: 49.7% of young people in the Świętokrzyskie region against 43.2% all over Poland. The percentage of young people who exercise 4 times per week and more is on a similar level: from the Świętokrzyskie region 31.9%, from all over Poland 30.0%. A more substantial number of young people in Poland (26.8%) exercise less frequently than once a month or not at all; in the Świętokrzyskie region (18.4%). It was noted that in the Świętokrzyskie region a tendency of doing physical exercises outside school concerning place of living was different than other sources provide. The research from 2011 showed that a bigger number of teenagers from villages (18.9%) exercise 4 times or more often per week more frequently than teenagers from towns and cities (13.1%). Key words: health, adolescence, physical effort, direction of changes Probl Hig Epidemiol 2017, 98(2): 164-169 www.phie.pl Nadesłano: 23.01.2017 Zakwalifikowano do druku: 10.04.2017 Adres do korespondencji / Address for correspondence dr hab. Bożena Zawadzka prof. UJK Zakład Pedagogiki Zdrowia i Kultury Fizycznej Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach ul. Krakowska 11, 25-029 Kielce tel. 692 33 87 86, e-mail: bozenazawadzka@interia.pl Introduction Physical activity as a dominant factor of lifestyle and at the same time of health gives people a better opportunity to adapt to the changing living conditions [1] and is conducive to more effective self-realization in dangerous situations and civilizational challenges [2]. In connection to healthy eating style, physical activity done in a proper way stimulates the development and health of children and adolescents, keeps them healthy and stops involutional processes later in life in all areas of health and life [1]. A considerable amount of research shows that physical activity performed in childhood and adolescence is a necessary condition of doing physical

Zawadzka B. Direction of changes of physical activity in adolescents from Świętokrzyskie region against Poland-wide data 165 exercises at later stages of life [1, 3]. Physical activity is then a necessary condition of not only keeping one s health but also building its potential, which is nowadays called positive health, among children and youth (the process of rising morphological differentiation, adolescence, good mood, fitness and agility) [1, 4]. On the basis of the analysis of literature W. Osiński [5] points to the benefits of physical activity for the development and health: acknowledging physical activity as a necessary element of healthy lifestyle in the context of building health potential, irrespective of the stage of development as prevention of diseases which cause premature disabilities or death coping with stress connected with contemporary lifestyle [6] therapy of many disorders and diseases by structural, functional and morphological influence [3-5, 7]. Moreover, B. Zawadzka [8] in her research draws attention to relations were examined between physical activity features (frequency, intensity) and risky behavior of young people (smoking, drinking alcohol) formulating the thesis that physical activity is a factor giving rise to behavior positive for health and resignation from harmful behavior, which was first noticed by J. Drabik [3]. In the previous edition of National Health Program (NPZ Narodowy Program Zdrowia) (1995 2005) it was planned that until 2005 different forms of physical activity in free time would be done by 50% of young people and children and 30% of adult people [9]. Unfortunately, those results were not achieved, so in the present edition of NPZ, until 2015, it was again planned that 60% of young people and children as well as 35% of adult people would be involved in different forms of physical activity in their free time [9]. Both WHO and the European Union Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health recommend the following physical activity frequency for school aged children: they should do exercise of moderate and high intensity for at least 60 minutes a day, in a form suited to the stage of their development, versatile and being a source of satisfaction for them [10]. Adolescents are an interesting research material because of both biological and psychosocial changes [11]. According to psychologists, at this stage it is important to take into account the criterion of social requirements besides the actual age. It involves: a similar level of cognition, awareness of the world, a similar dominant kind of activity, similar methods of educational influence [12]. This period, called self-education, is also important in the pedagogical aspect [13, 14]. Dynamics of changes of adolescence, to a great degree, influences the lifestyle and behavior motivation, it gives the feeling of power and the will of expansion. At this stage young people possess certain amount of knowledge about the world, people and the things they do, they start to plan their life in society. It largely depends on them how much of physical activity will be done and how good it will be [8]. Therefore a question was posed: what is the physical activity of adolescents aged 15-17 years from the Świętokrzyskie region in comparison with their peers from 15 years ago and against the data from all over Poland? Aim To evaluate physical activity of intense effort with the use of VPA indicator among teenagers aged 15-17 years from the Świętokrzyskie region against the results of their peers from 15 years ago and the Poland-wide data. Material and method The research from 2011 concerned 1422 pupils: 695 girls (48.9%) and 727 boys (51.1%), aged 15-17 years: aged 15 580 (40.8%), 16 691 (48.6%) and 17 151 (10.6%), learning in public schools in the Świętokrzyskie region; 635 (44.7%) lived in the city and 787 (55.3%) in the village. In the research conducted in 1996 all over Poland concerning health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) this region was not taken into account. The pupils who were examined attended third grade of secondary school and first and second grades of high schools. In the research the method of diagnostic survey was used. An international questionnaire was used as a tool to investigate health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) it was made available in English version by prof. Barbara Woynarowska, the coordinator of this type of research in Poland. The same tool (HBSC) made it possible to reliably evaluate the results and compare them objectively. There were two stages involved in the choice of the research sample; the first was choosing the schools and the other was choosing the pupils [15]. In order to prepare the statistical correlation between the analyzed variables, a non-parametric test Chi-square was used [16], and to define the importance the minimal probability p=0.05 was accepted as enough to confirm the importance of the researched effect. To specify the strength of the bond, the Pearson correlation coefficient (rc) of features was used [17]. The material to compare was taken from the research done by B. Zawadzka 15 years ago and published in 2007 [8] and from the HBSC 2010 research report [18]. In order to evaluate physical activity of

166 Probl Hig Epidemiol 2017, 98(2): 164-169 adolescents from the Świętokrzyskie region two questions concerning vigorous physical activity (VPA) were used: how often and how many hours per week does a pupil devote to physical activity? It was accepted that the recommended level of physical activity for VPA is very intense: frequent at least 4 times a week for a total of at least 4 hours a week [22]. Results Frequency of performing intense physical exercises in free time Intense physical activity of 15-17-year-olds is different depending on age, gender, and a place of living. In the researched group, almost a half (49.7%) exercised up to three times a week. Only one third (31.9%) exercised four or more times or every day outside school. Almost every fifth pupil (18.3%) said they did not exercise at all. Comparing this data to the research results from 15 years ago, it is evident that physical activity of the researched pupils is very much alike [8]. Evidently, gender as a variable statistically correlates with physical activity. However, the bond is not strong. Exercising four times or more per week is done more often by boys (19.8%) than girls (12.1%). There are more girls (11.2%) than boys (7.1%) who do not exercise at all. In comparison to the researched pupils from 15 years ago the group of pupils who do not exercise is smaller both in boys - by 5.1% and girls - by 13.5% (Table I). Taking into account the correlation between the frequency of physical exercise and the age of the examined youth, a statistically important correlation was discovered on the level p<0.001 with the bond being weak. Exercising 4 times or more per week is done most frequently by 16-year-olds (16.7%), then 15-year-olds (13.2%) and finally 17-year-olds (2.00%). In every age group the biggest number of teenagers exercise up to 3 times a week (total 49.7%) (Table I). In a way this regularity confirms the phenomenon discovered 15 years ago that the younger one is, the more often one exercises. With age the frequency of exercising outside school decreases. Such a tendency is noticeable but not essential in the research of 2011. The place of living is a variable which differentiates physical activity of the examined youth, but the correlation is hardly noticeable. In the two types of environment which were compared, the biggest percentage of teenagers exercises up to three times a week: city 23.1%, village 26.6%. It should be noticed that teenagers from rural areas exercise four times or more per week more frequently (18.8%) than those from urban areas (13.1%) (Table I). In comparison to the research results from 15 years ago it was confirmed that the place of living did not differentiate physical activity performed by teenagers to such an extent as age or gender. An interesting change was noticed: more young people from rural areas than from the city exercised more frequently per week, the difference is 8.5%. Length of vigorous physical activity performed in free time Boys do vigorous physical activity more often than girls. The correlation is statistically important p<0.001. The bond is weak. In the group of people who exercise four hours or longer (20.5%) and 2-3 hours (29.2%) there are more boys, respectively 4.4% and 3,0%. It is confirmed that girls exercise less often and do not spend so much time on physical exercise. Almost one third of girls declare that they exercise less than 1 hour a week or not at all (Table II). In comparison to young people from 15 years ago, the group of teenagers who exercised one hour per week or less has not changed considerably in 1996 Table I. Frequency of physical exercises in adolescents per week (outside school) Tabela I. Częstotliwość ćwiczeń fizycznych młodzieży w tygodniu (poza zajęciami szkolnymi) Frequency of exercise /częstotliwość ćwiczeń 4 times and more /ćwiczy 4 razy i więcej (N=454) gender /płeć (χ 2 =39.7998; p<0.001; r c =0.1650 weak /słaba) 1-3 times /ćwiczy 1 do 3 razy (N=707) No exercise at all /nie ćwiczy (N=261) Tota /Ogółem (N=1422) n % n % n % n % boys /chłopcy 282 19.8 344 24.2 101 7.1 727 51.1 girls /dziewczęta 172 12.1 363 25.5 160 11.2 695 48.9 age (in years) /wiek (w latach) (χ 2 =24.0029, p<0.001; r c =0.1288 weak /słaba) 15 188 13.2 303 21.3 89 6.3 580 40.8 16 238 16.7 328 23.1 125 8.8 691 48.6 17 28 2.0 76 5.3 47 3.3 151 10.6 place of living /miejsce zamieszkania (χ 2 =3,6670, p<0,2; r c =0,0507 slim /nikła) city /miasto 186 13.1 328 23.1 121 8.5 635 44.7 village /wieś 268 18.8 379 26.6 140 9.8 787 55.3

Zawadzka B. Direction of changes of physical activity in adolescents from Świętokrzyskie region against Poland-wide data 167 Table II. Number of hours per week of vigorous training in adolescents Tabela II. Liczba godzin w tygodniu przeznaczonych przez młodzież na ćwiczenia o dużej intensywności Frequency of exercise /Częstotliwość ćwiczeń 1 hour and less /ćwiczy 1 godz. i mniej (N=714) gender /płeć (χ 2 =23,1649, p<0,001; r c =0,1266 weak /nikła) 2-3 hours /ćwiczy 2 do 3 godz. (N=416) 4 hours and more /ćwiczy 4 godz. i więcej (N=292) Total /Ogółem (N=1422) n % n % n % n % boys /chłopcy 322 22,6 228 16,0 177 12,4 727 51,1 girls /dziewczęta 392 27,6 188 13,2 115 8,1 695 48,9 age (in years) /wiek (w latach) (χ 2 =14,3254, p<0,01; r c =0,0999 slim /nikła) 15 267 18,8 182 12,8 131 9,2 580 40,8 16 350 24,6 196 13,8 145 10,2 691 48,69 17 97 6,8 38 2,7 16 1,1 151 10,6 place of living /miejsce zamieszkania (χ 2 =39,4149, p<0,001; r c =0,1642 weak /słaba) city /miasto 365 25,7 184 12,9 86 6,0 635 44.7 village /wieś 349 24,5 232 16,3 206 14,5 787 55.3 it was 52.7%, and in 2011 50,2%. Girls dominate in this group. The group of young people who exercise four hours and more is also similar and it is about 20.5% in both cases. In the examined group in 2011, age as a variable does not differentiate the number of hours of physical activities performed by adolescents to such an extent as in the research from 1996. The correlation is statistically important but the bond is weak. Four hours and more per week are devoted to physical exercises mostly by 16-year-olds (10.2%). 17-year-olds devote 4 hours per week to physical training in the smaller number of cases (1.1%). One hour or less is devoted to physical training by mainly 16-year-olds (24.6%), then by 15-year-olds (18.8%) and finally by 17-year-olds (6.8%) (Table II). In the research from 15 years ago, a certain tendency appeared with age the number of pupils not exercising at all increased. This number rose from 14% in the group of 14-year-olds to 32% in the group of 18-year-olds. In 2011 this tendency was not discovered. The distribution of results is more diversified. The place of living, as a variable, differentiated results in a statistically important way on the level p<0.001, with a weak correlation between the variables. The results are in favor of teenagers from rural areas. A substantially larger number of young people from villages (14.5%) exercise 4 hours and more per week than young ones from cities (6.0%). In both environments every fourth pupil (city 25.7%, village 24.5%) exercises less than 1 hour or not at all, the remaining ones exercise 2-3 hours (Table II). In the previous research, almost the same number of adolescents exercised 4 hours or more (20.5%). The biggest difference is the participation of teenagers from villages in those exercises. In the research done 15 years ago, there were more teenagers from cities (26.4%) than from villages (15.5%) who did vigorous physical exercise for 4 hours or more. However, in the research from 2011, there were more adolescents from villages (14.5%) doing vigorous physical exercises more frequently than from cities (6.0%). The number of young people who exercise less than 1 hour grew considerably, and it refers to half of the examined group (50.2%), and previously it referred to 26.2%. Discussion The analysis of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the research conducted by many authors proves that the level of physical activity of Polish adolescents decreases and it constantly gets lower than the one recommended by WHO, the European Union Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health [18]. Due to the fact that different tools are used to measure physical activity of young people at the age of adolescence, it is difficult to evaluate and compare research results. Two standardized international tools are most frequently used: HBSC and IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire). The characterization of physical activity of adolescents from junior and senior high schools was done by J. Bergier [19] pointing to big discrepancies in results (which is a reason for concern). Oftentimes, there is a revaluation of activity performed by teenagers concerning length and intensity of physical activity. It gives rise to a belief that there is lack of proper instruction on how to fill in a questionnaire. There is not much research done by means of the international questionnaire (HBSC) in comparison with research done by means of the IPAQ questionnaire by individual researchers. In the HBSC research done all over Poland during the last 20 years (1990 2010) it was noticed that in age groups of 11, 13, and 15 years the percentage of those who exercised at least 4 times a week did not change in the case of 15-year-olds. It became lower in both remaining groups by 10%. The percentage of teenagers at the age of 11 and 13 years who exercise rarely has increased

168 Probl Hig Epidemiol 2017, 98(2): 164-169 considerably (it especially refers to boys). Vigorous physical activity at least 4 days per week is done by 30-40% of teenagers and only 15-18% of them devote at least 4 hours a week to this kind of exercise (HBSC 2010) [18]. The results are comparable when it comes to exercising 4 times or more per week: in the Świętokrzyskie region 31.9%, in Poland 30.0%. However, a considerably larger number of teenagers in Poland (26.8%) exercise less frequently than once a month or not at all than in the Świętokrzyskie region (18.4%). Gender as a variable differentiates physical activity of adolescents in a statistically significant way. Boys exercise more often and do more intense exercises than girls. Girls do strenuous physical exercises much less frequently outside school. Generally, according to the Poland-wide research (HBSC 2010) [18], 62.1% of 15- and 16-year-olds exercise only one hour per week or less. Among teenagers from the Świętokrzyskie region, the situation is more favorable as it concerns 50.2%. The EHIS report from 2009 showed that 85% of pupils at the age of 6-14 were physically active outside physical education classes at school. This coefficient was on a similar level in the case of boys and girls and pupils living in cities and villages. Considering a very strenuous physical exercise, young people aged 15-19 years do it the least frequently. However, those young people do quite well as far as exercise of moderate physical effort is concerned e.g. walking [21]. The present research showed that outside school adolescents exercise more often and more intensely in villages than in cities. The tendency was incongruent with other researchers or report results. Both the Poland-wide research and the research done by B. Zawadzka [8] show that there is a need for research on the reasons why physical activity is performed so infrequently by teenagers in their free time. There is also a need for pedagogical ways to motivate young people to exercise more [19, 22, 23]. A thorough analysis of literature concerning physical activity as a positive index of health and the importance of physical fitness was done by W. Młynarski and others [23]. In 2006 it was written in NPZ that the declared physical activity in free time cannot be compared to the physical fitness which is measured by objective tests [20]. At the turn of the 19 th and the 20 th century children from rural areas were the least physically fit. The deterioration of physical fitness of children from big cities is so considerable that the level of their fitness is nearly as poor as among children from villages. Taking into account the recommended level of physical activity of moderate and vigorous intensity done for at least 60 minutes a day, the phenomenon called hypokinesis has been noticed especially among girls. Lack of physical activity leads to the decline of bodily functions and overall fitness among youth and it may also cause a number of health disorders and diseases. Conclusions The following conclusions concerning adolescents from the Świętokrzyskie region can be drawn: 1. In general, the level of their physical activity has been stable for the last 15 years. The changes are visible in the distribution of results depending on variables such as: age, gender, and a place of living. 2. They come out more favorably when compared with the results from EHIS [21] concerning Polish youth the difference is 4.0%. 3. Against the Poland-wide data from the HBSC- 2010 report [18] on frequency and number of hours devoted to vigorous physical exercise per week, they got better results the difference is 6.5%. 4. The group of those who exercise less than 1 hour and those who do not exercise at all increased by 14.0% in comparison to the data from 15 years ago. Piśmiennictwo / References 1. Przewęda R. 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