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Physical education teachers’ health literacy: first evidence from Lithuania /
No full textBackground: Promotion of health literacy is an important goal in the context of promoting whole school health. Physical education teachers are of particular importance in achieving this goal. However, very limited empirical studies have addressed the health literacy of physical education teachers. This research aimed to test the structural validity and reliability of the HLS19-Q12, to measure health literacy among physical education teachers, and to evaluate associations of health literacy with health- and lifestyle-related indicators. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of Lithuanian physical education teachers. The participants completed a self-administered online survey that collected information on socio-demographics and health literacy (HLS19-Q12 for general health literacy and the optional package HLS19-DIGI to measure digital health literacy) as well as health behavior. Results: A total of 332 participants completed the survey. The HLS19-Q12 demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α of 0.73 and McDonald’s ω of 0.75) and satisfactory structural validity (CFI = 0.924, TLI = 0.917, RMSEA = 0.081). Participants had an average score of 85.09 (SD = 17.23) when using the HLS19-Q12, with 19.3% and 48.8% displaying excellent and sufficient levels of health literacy, respectively. Regression analyses revealed that a higher level of health literacy was significantly associated with better health evaluation (β = 0.15, p < 0.01), but no significant association was found with other health behavior and lifestyle indicators. Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that teachers’ general health literacy is relatively high. Our findings highlight the importance of conducting more in-depth studies to pursue the understanding of the whole school teachers’ health literacy
Effects of resistance training exercises and passive muscle stretching on the strength, morphological and mechanical properties of female calf muscles.
No full textResearch problem: Resistance training is known to develop muscular strength and tendon strength. However, frequent Achilles tendon and triceps surae muscle connective tissue injuries in female athletes are indicative of insufficient exercise effect. Recently, the increased use of passive muscle stretching between sets of resistance training exercises has shown positive effects on muscle hypertrophy. However, the effects of such training on muscle and tendon morphology and mechanical properties are unknown. Aim of the study: to determine the effects of resistance training exercises and passive muscle stretching on the strength, morphological and mechanical properties of female calf muscles. Objectives: 1. To determine the effects of strength training exercises and passive muscle stretching on the strength of female calf muscles. 2. Determine the effects of strength training exercises and passive muscle stretching on the morphological characteristics of the gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon in women. 3. To determine the effects of resistance training exercises and passive muscle stretching on the stiffness of the plantar flexors muscles and Achilles tendon in women. Hypothesis: Strength training with passive stretching between sets of exercises will have a greater effect on the strength of the female plantar flexors and the morphological and mechanical properties of the triceps surae and Achilles tendon. Research suggests that stretching can have a positive effect on MT (Simpson et al., 2017). Panidi and colleagues found that the intensity of stretches also influences MT parameters, where higher intensity is associated with greater MT outcomes (Panidi et al., 2023). As MT is associated with higher muscle strength and muscle-tendon unit stiffness, we hypothesised the latter. Methods: anthropometry (electronic scales, calf circumference), ultrasonography (morphological parameters), dynamometry (stiffness of the plantar flexors muscles and Achilles tendon), and mathematical statistics (IMB SPSS statistics 26). Results: The passive loaded stretching group showed a significant improvement in strength and stiffness measurments, but not in morphology measurments, compared with the control group. The experimental group showed strenght improvements in all five measured angles, whereas the control group showed improvements in only one angle. In the morphological measurements, both groups recorded statistically significant changes only in the cross-sectional area of the Achilles tendon. Only the experimental group showed statistically significant changes in the measurement of muscle-tendon unit stiffness. Conclusion: passive loaded stretching during rest between sets is an effective method to improve calf muscle strength, muscle-tendon unit stiffness and Achilles tendon cross-sectional area
Effects of blood flow restriction training on muscle strength and blood indicators in elderly subjects.
No full textIntroduction: Aging negatively affects strength and increases systemic inflammation in the body. It would be relevant to assess the effect of blood flow training on strength and especially on blood indicators, and evaluate how a change in one indicator affects another, since the amount of such information is limited. The purpose of the study: to determine the effect of 12 weeks of blood flow restriction training on strength and blood indicators and to evaluate the relationship between the changes. Tasks of the study: to determine the effect of blood flow restriction training on lower limb muscle strength; to evaluate the sistemic effect of blood flow restriction training on interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α) and resting lactate blood indicators; to evaluate the relationship between the change of lower limb muscle strength and blood parameters before and after the 12th week. Hypothesis: it is likely that sistemic blood flow restriction training should reduce biomarkers IL-6, TNF-α & resting lactate levels in the blood, which will be associated with strength gains Research methods: 20 elderly persons (≥60 years old) participated in the study, who were randomly allocated into control (n=6) and experimental (n=14) groups. Training was performed only for the muscles of the lower limbs. The maximum of 1 repetition was used for the measurement and assessment of strength indicators, in the exercises of leg press while lying on the back, leg extension while sitting, and leg flexion while lying on the stomach. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate IL-6, TNF-α blood levels. Capillary lactate levels were assessed with Lactate Pro 2. Blood indicators and strength tests were performed before and after the intervention period. Research results: Blood flow restriction training improved strength indicators in elderly subjects: leg press while lying on the back, seated leg extension, and leg flexion while lying on the stomach (p0.05), but lactate levels were significantly higher after 12 weeks in the control group than in the experimental group (p=0.029). A significant negative moderate-strength relationship was seen between the difference in the change of sitting leg extension strength and the difference in the change in IL-6 (p=0.047). Conclusions: 12 weeks of blood flow restriction training improved muscle strength in older adults but had no significant effect on blood parameters. As leg extension strength increases, IL-6 levels in the blood decrease
Importance of lifestyle components of people over 50 years of age for healthy aging.
No full textIn recent decades, researchers have been studying the various biological, psychological and social factors associated with ageing. Rapidly ageing population around the world pose challenges for health care, social services and public health. The challenge for scientists is to develop comprehensive, science-based guidelines for healthy ageing. The aim of this study was: To uncover the role of lifestyle in healthy ageing in people over 50. Objectives: to investigate the respondents' physical activity patterns, some of their individual health risk factors, morbidity patterns, social integration and self-actualization, and to explore the association of the study participants' healthy ageing-related lifestyle components. We used an instant online survey. Volunteers aged over 50 years completed the 22-question Healthy Ageing Quiz questionnaire with additional socio-demographic data. Responses were scored. A score of up to 15 was considered unfavorable for healthy ageing, 16-30 was considered partially favorable and over 31 favorable. The results showed that the mean scores for the individual lifestyle indicators were mostly different between the youngest and oldest age groups. The overall conclusion is that the healthiest way to age is through social connections and productive engagement, adequate physical activity, optimism and adaptation
Health-promoting physical activity, sleep quality and psichoemotional well-being in upper secondary school students.
No full textResearch problem. Adolescence, between the ages of 10 and 19, is a key stage in life, characterised by many behavioural and physiological changes. Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty, a life stage with changes in physical appearance and reproductive capacity that affect adolescents' psychological and social development (Fonseca et al., 2021). Physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour can improve the physiological and psychological health of adolescents (Rodriguez - Ayllon et al., 2019). Physical activity has been shown to control depression and anxiety, increase serotonin levels in the brain and boost immunity. Physical movement releases endorphins, known as the hormones of happiness or youth, which help adolescents feel happy (HamedAlizadeh - Pahlavani, 2024). Understanding and assessing adolescents' physical activity and sleep habits through research is essential to implement effective strategies to promote physical activity and improve sleep quality. Therefore, the study area chosen was- health-promoting physical activity, sleep quality and psychoemotional well-being in adolescents. The aim of the study- was to establish the links between health-promoting physical activity, sleep quality and psycho-emotional well-being in upper secondary school students. Objectives of the study: 1. To determine the level of health-promoting physical activity in older students. 2. To assess the quality of sleep in older students. 3. To assess the psycho-emotional well-being of older students. 4. To determine the relationship between health-promoting physical activity, sleep quality and psycho-emotional well-being in older school children. Hypothesis: We expect to find that children who are more physically active will have better sleep quality and well-being. Materials and methods: the study was carried out in educational institutions of Pasvalys city and district in May-September 2023. The interviews were conducted with students in grades 9-12, after obtaining prior permission from the Ethics Review Committee of the Lithuanian University of Sport for Social Research Compliance to carry out the research. Protocol number - SMTEK-1940. A total of 230 students participated in the study, 125 (54.3%) girls and 105 (45.7%) boys. The mean age of the subjects was 16.6 years. The Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ) was used to assess the subjects' physical activity. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality in adolescents. The World Health Organisation's Well-being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess adolescents' psycho-emotional well-being. Summarizing conclusion:: 97.8% of the students surveyed were classified as physically active, 1.7% as moderately active and 0.4% as insufficiently active. Although the results were not statistically significant, there was a slight trend towards boys being more physically active than girls (p>0.05). The results showed that 66% of the respondents did not have sleep disorders. Episodic sleep disturbances were found in 29.6% of the respondents and moderate sleep disturbances in 4.3% of the students. The results showed that girls had poorer sleep quality than boys. When assessing the adolescents' psychoemotional well-being, it was found that 15.7% had a poor psychological state, and 4.3% had a tendency to a depressive mood. The results show that girls had worse sleep quality than boys. When assessing the psycho-emotional well-being of teenagers, it was found that 15.7% had a poor psychological state, and 4.3% were prone to a depressive mood. The results show that the psychoemotional well-being score had a statistically significant relationship with the total physical activity score. Sleep disturbances, daytime distress, and the total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Score showed a strong negative association with psychoemotional well-being. A strong negative relationship was found between the physical activity score and sleep disturbance, bad mood during the day - Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, i.e. the higher the physical activity, the lower the level of sleep, the better daytime well-being, and the lower the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Score
Socialinės medijos ir interneto svetainės ryšys Eurolygos klubuos.
No full textThe purpose of this study – is to analyze relationship between social media and website in the EuroLeague clubs. Research Objectives: 1. To explore social media and website relationship. 2. To analyze social media and website features for sports organizations. 3. To research social media and website tools and techniques in the EuroLeague Basketball clubs. Research methods: The methodology is to interview with sports organizations responsibles, marketing or social media managers, relied on their role of marketing models. Structure of the work: The work consists of three parts. In the first part, a theoretical analysis of the literature is carried out, in the second part the research methodology is prepared. The third part of the work presents, analyzes and discusses the research results. Research results: Social media and website relationships is a significant tool in the sports world which tools used by sports clubs take up a large place in the general and special planning of organizations. EuroLeague teams use social media tools for their own marketing purposes in the digitalizing world. Various posts, stories-based moves that can engage fans are indispensable for club marketing and social media managers. This increasing digital revolution has the potential to provide the top basketball organization in Europe, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, teams with a brand identity, revenue growth, and fan engagement through several social media and website techniques
Effects of two week high intensity interval training on anaerobic capacity development between young and older men.
No full textPurpose of the study: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of two weeks of high- intensity interval training, in terms of age. Methods: Nineteen (n=19) healthy adults of various physical levels, 10 young men (age 21.6 ± 1.4 years, weight 81.0 ± 14.0 kg, height 182.4 ± 7, 0 cm) formed the young group (YG) and 9 older men (age 68.0 ± 3.0 years, weight 83.0 ± 14.0 kg, height 176.0 ± 6.0 cm) formed the senior group (SG ). The study continued for 2 weeks, during which subjects had to train in a high-intensity interval training (AIIT) program. During the study: We observed changes in total work, maximum pedal revolutions per minute (RPM), maximum power, average power, minimum power, heart rate (HR) and fatigue index (NI) using (" Monark 824E" Sweden) ergometer bike during the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT). Results: After the two weeks of AIIT program YG had a statistically significant increase in maximal power at (3W) interval: pre (767.1 ± 122.1) post (863.6 ± 129.5) p = 0.02; average power increase in three intervals: (1W) pre (697 ± 125) post (732 ± 142) p = 0.04; (3W) pre (520 ± 95) post (585 ± 113) p < 0.001; (4W) pre (505 ± 116) post (538 ± 113) p = 0.03; RPM increase: (2W) pre (131 ± 12.5) post (143 ± 16.1) p = 0.04; (3W) pre (118 ± 6) post (130 ± 8.3) p = 0.01; total work increase in all intervals: (1W) pre (206771 ± 3753) post (218781 ± 4174) p = 0.05; (2W) pre (180110 ± 3484) post (194974 ± 3708) p = 0.02; (3W) pre (152234 ± 2971) post (172193 ± 3457) p < 0.001; (4W) pre (149118 ± 3590) post (158591 ± 3468) p = 0.049. SG statistically significant changes were in HR during (1W) interval: pre (126 ± 18) post (139 ± 16) p = 0.04 and RPM during 1W interval: pre (108 ± 6.8) post (113 ± 4.3) p = 0.04. Comparing the obtained results between ages. groups, it turned out that YG showed much better results of total work, RPM, maximum power, average power, minimum power p<0.001. Conclusions: YG had a statistically significant increase in total work, average power, RPM indicators, 3rd interval of maximum power. SG showed a statistically significant increase in HR and RPM of the first intervals. Comparing the anaerobic performance results of YG and SG during two-week AIIT training program, we found that YG were statistically significantly superior in terms of total work , maximum power, average power, minimum power, and RPM. This study showed differences in the effects of HIIT between different age groups. The results showed that HIIT affects younger men more, but there is still a lack of research in this area
Improving health-related physical fitness of elementary school students: flexibility training in physical education classes.
No full textThe research problem: as a component of the health-related physical capacity of elementary school students, will flexibility change with the application of static and dynamic flexibility training exercises during physical education classes? Aim of the study: to determine the effectiveness of flexibility training programs for primary school students as a feature of health-related physical capacity, using additional dynamic (E1 group) or static (E2 group) stretching exercises in physical education (PE) classes. Study objectives: 1. To investigate the flexibility of elementary school students (E1 group) before and after the application of the additional dynamic stretching exercise program in PE lessons; 2. To investigate the flexibility of elementary school students (E2 group) before and after the application of the additional static stretching exercise program in PE lessons; 3. To determine the change in the flexibility of elementary school students, using regular (control group) and additional stretching exercises (E1 and E2 groups) in PE lessons and compare them in terms of gender. Hypothesis: it is likely that 1) the flexibility indicators of elementary school students will improve more by applying static flexibility training exercises; 2) a program of both static and dynamic flexibility exercises applied during physical education lessons will have a greater effect on the flexibility results of girls than boys. Research methods: during the assessment using the Eurofit "Sit and Reach" flexibility test method, the initial and final physical fitness component - flexibility indicators of the participants were measured. Results: summarizing the results of the dynamic flexibility training strategy, it became clear that during the PE lessons, a statistically significant change was observed between the I and II stages of testing by additionally training flexibility with dynamic flexibility training exercises, the results improved by 8 percent (1.29 ± 0.93 cm). The results of our study show that dynamic flexibility training exercises are superior for girls than boys, as a statistically significant change was observed only among female subjects. Summarizing the results of the static flexibility training strategy, we can see that the subjects improved their flexibility test results statistically significantly. The difference between stage I and II was as much as 13 percent (2.47 ± 1.05 cm). When comparing the differences between the sexes, it became clear that statistically significant differences between stage I and stage II were observed both among girls and among boys. In summarizing the results of the yoga strategy performed during the PE classes, no statistically significant change was observed between the testing stages. Conclusions: 1. During the physical education lessons, the flexibility indicators of the subjects improved statistically significantly by additionally performing dynamic flexibility training exercises, these are more advantageous for girls than for boys. 2. During the physical education lessons, when additional static flexibility training exercises were performed, the flexibility indicators of the subjects improved statistically significantly, these are more advantageous for girls than for boys. 3. During the physical education classes, the static flexibility training strategy was superior to the dynamic flexibility training strategy, and no statistically significant change was observed in the subjects' flexibility indicators when additional yoga exercises were performed during the physical education lessons
Digital health literacy, lifestyle and health promotion in school for high school students.
No full textLow general and digital health literacy not only has a negative impact on health but also on the overall economic system of a country. It has been reported that insufficient health literacy costs the healthcare system an additional 7 to 17% of total personal healthcare costs (Shahid et al., 2022). WHO therefore encourages education and health system reforms, combining efforts to reduce the health literacy gap. Examples from Finland and other countries illustrate that introducing compulsory health education in school can lead to high health literacy outcomes (Okan et al., 2019). The aim of this paper is to assess the links between digital health literacy, lifestyle, and its promotion at school in 11-12 grade students. The objectives of the study are 1. To determine the digital health literacy of students in grades 11-12. 2. To assess the digital health literacy of students in grades 11-12 and their healthy lifestyle and its development at school. 3. To identify the links between digital health literacy, lifestyle, and health promotion in school for students in Years 11-12. Research methods. The study used an online survey method. A questionnaire on digital health literacy, lifestyle and school health literacy was developed. The sample of this study consisted of 360 pupils (207 girls and 153 boys) in grades 11-12. Conclusion. Eleventh graders have a significantly higher digital health literacy score than twelfth graders; boys have a significantly higher score than girls. More than half of the pupils think that there is enough attention paid to healthy lifestyles at school and a quarter of the pupils do not know if there are any events related to healthy lifestyles at school at all. Only 5.6 % of pupils are sufficiently physically active, with boys being significantly more active than girls. Alcohol consumption and smoking rates did not differ significantly between genders but differed between grades. Two-thirds of pupils in 12 grade and less than half of those in 11 grade had tried smoking at least once. One-fifth of students in 11 grade and one-third of students in 12 grade smoke regularly. Alcohol consumption is more frequent among 12th-grade pupils than among 11th-grade pupils, both in their lifetime and in the last month. Digital health literacy is not significantly associated with the school's focus on healthy lifestyles but is significantly positively associated with lower lifetime alcohol consumption and higher self-rated health
Stress and coping methods in 18-year-old female volleyball players and girls attending physical education classes: a qualitative study.
No full textThe aim of this study: To identify and compare the characteristics and coping methods of stress experienced by 18-year-old volleyball players and girls attending PE lessons. Research problem: Researchers' work has tended to focus separately on stress in sport and stress at school, particularly in physical education classes, and on methods of coping with it. There is a lack of research analysing adolescents' coping methods in the sport of volleyball and in the physical education classroom. This problem raises a problematic question: what are the methods of coping with stress used by school-age female and non-athletic girls in sport and physical education classes? Hypothesis: It is likely that volleyball athletes experience higher levels of stress than girls attending PE classes. Research methods: Literature analysis, semi-structured interview Results: 18-year-old girls who play volleyball have higher levels of stress than girls who take PE lessons. The main causes of stress for volleyball girls are: environmental pressure, fear of physical injury, fear of making mistakes and fear of disappointing coaches/team. For girls attending PE lessons, the main causes of stress are: poor grades, peer pressure, fear of disappointing family/self and fear of the future. The main signs of stress for 18 year old girls playing volleyball and attending FU lessons: physical and emotional. The main coping methods for girls, who play volleyball are: listening to music, visualising the upcoming competition, distraction, bad habits. The main stress coping methods for girls attending PE lessons: mindfulness, avoidance, listening to music and socialising. Conclusions: The study found that the stress levels, causes, signs, antecedents and other characteristics of girls who play volleyball are different from those of girls who attend PE classes