Abstract:

Physical activity has numerous benefits for the healthy life of children and young people, of which the positive impact on the prevention of various diseases, adaptation of physical, motor and functional characteristics, cognitive functions and on aspects of behavior and socialization of young people are highlighted. Numerous studies on the level of physical activity among children and young people indicate worrying results that primarily relate to the free time of children and young people who spend it in activities that do not require a great deal of muscle effort. Also, research was conducted to determine the age and gender difference in the total level of physical activity (PA) among children of younger school age, in which a higher level of physical activity was observed in boys and how the level of physical activity in both sexes decreases after the early adolescent period. The aim of this work was to investigate whether there are age and gender differences in the level of physical activity among students of younger school age. 302 students from Zagreb County participated in the research, of which 150 were girls and 150 were boys aged 7 to 10. The Croatian version of the PAQ-C questionnaire (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children) was used for the research. The Mann-Whitney test was used to determine gender differences, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used for age differences. The analysis found no statistically significant difference between boys and girls in the total level of PA (physical activity) (z = -.34, p > .05). Also, boys and girls did not differ statistically significantly in the level of PA during physical and health education classes, after school and in the evening (z value ranging from -.97 to .26, p > .05), as well as in the level of PA per day (z = -.37, p > .05). However, significant differences were obtained in the level of PA during short rest (z = -5.36, p < .01), long rest (z = -2.93, p < .01), weekends (z = -2.54, p < .05) and in the self-assessment of PA during the past week (z = -3.12, p < .01). Boys achieved higher results than girls in all four categories. The only category in which the level of PA was compared according to the age of the students, and a statistically significant difference was found according to the age of the students, was PA during the long break (H = 14.90, p < .01). At the same time, during the long break, first-grade students are the most active (M = 3.02), followed by second-grade students (M = 2.54), while third-grade (M = 2.41) and fourth-grade students (M = 2.44) are the least active. The research shows that there are no significant age and gender differences in the level of physical activity among primary school students, that is, with regard to gender, boys show a higher level of physical activity only in certain categories, while looking at age there are no statistically significant differences, only during the long break when they first and second graders are more active than third and fourth graders. This research confirmed the second, pressing problem, which is the insufficient activity of younger school-aged students, as well as the necessity of increasing their level of physical activity, as well as the role and importance of teachers and parents in encouraging and organizing active free time.

Keywords:

Healthy life, physical activity, elementary school, teachers.