engleski

Assessment of physical fitness of students at the Faculty of teacher education in Rijeka

Students’ good physical condition is crucial for continuous health maintenance their youth, which enables them to preserve good fitness even in adulthood. This study aimed to explore the current state of students' anthropological status at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka and determine whether there is a correlation between the morphological characteristics and success in motor and functional abilities. Obesity is a grave public health concern, and a low level of motor and functional abilities can have consequences on the longevity and quality of life. The sample consisted of 134 first and second-year female students from the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka. Anthropological characteristics were assessed with 15 variables (seven morphological variables: body height, body weight, body mass index – BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-tohip ratio – WHR, waist- to-height ratio – WHtR ; eight motor variables: easier and more difficult push-ups, situps, plank hold, squat hold, standing on one leg with eyes open and closed ; and one functional variable: stair test). Basic descriptive parameters were calculated in all variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient with a significance level of p = 0.05 was used to determine the relationship between morphological characteristics and physical fitness. The obtained results show that students achieve below-average results in the muscular endurance of the torso and lower extremities and have poor functional abilities. The results of the association between the tests of morphological characteristics and tests for the assessment of motor abilities show significant positive correlations between body weight and the balance test (UB_r_c ; r = 0.50). A positive correlation was found between BMI and balance tests (UB_r_c ; r = 0.54, UB_r_o ; r = 0.49). Negative correlations were obtained between the balance test UB_l_o and morphological variables AR (r = -0.67) and HR (r = -0.77), and between the balance test UB_r_o and morphological variables WR (r = -0.59) and HR (r = -0.74). A moderately positive correlation was found between the morphological variable WHR and the functional test STEP 15" (r = 0.52). It is recommended that future research verifies the anthropological status on a larger student population and that the measurements are conducted on multiple occassions to monitor students' status and thus control the impacts of the implemented program.

Teacher education, physical fitness, students, anthropological characteristics, correlations

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