Abstract:

The dramatic advent of civilization diseases represents a worldwide problem. These diseases, especially of the cardiovascular system, significantly decrease the health-dependent quality of the life of almost all of us. The decisive cause is the change of lifestyle involving decreased physical activity, change in eating habits and the growing amount of stress. One of the key factors that can beneficially influence an individual’s attitudes to his or her lifestyle during childhood and adolescence is the role of the teacher. It is necessary that students of physical education, the future teachers, should have all the new knowledge regarding this issue. That they should create effective, especially preventive programs in the course of their teaching activity, which will create corresponding views and attitudes in their pupils with a positive impact on their health.

In its introduction, the article deals with the current situation concerning the occurrence of the major civilization diseases, aiming at cardiovascular diseases, and describes some effective procedures in primary and secondary prevention. Furthermore, it summarizes the scope and content of the courses devoted to issue at universities providing the teaching of physical education and sport in the Czech Republic. It points out a certain fundamental problem, whereby the teaching only provides a general summary of the issue, without creating specific educational programs. The text also presents new possibilities of teaching university students of physical education and sport, using as a case in point the design of a new course on cardiovascular fitness at the Pedagogical Faculty of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Usti nad Labem.

The teaching of cardiovascular fitness at this university is focused on not only theoretical subjects such as anatomy, physiology or health education. In the specific part of the teaching, the student is acquainted with the design of specific educational programs and specific situations which have a markedly positive effect in preventing cardiovascular diseases. The basic areas for creating the corresponding conditions include, in particular, designing specific physical activities with a beneficial impact on the cardiovascular system and relaxation techniques enabling the management of stressful situations; in addition, the students are familiarized with the principles of appropriate eating habits.

Keywords:

Cardiovascular fitness, university students, physical education and sport.