Prevalence of the level of physical activity of educators

Cilj rada bio je utvrditi prevalenciju razine tjelesne aktivnosti odgajatelja u Republici Hrvatskoj i razlike u istoj s obzirom na njihovu kronološku dob, godine radnog staža, stupanj obrazovanja i mjesto rada, a sve sa svrhom unaprjeđenja kvalitete života djece i odraslih. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 159 odgajatelja iz različitih krajeva Republike Hrvatske. Korištena je hrvatska inačica standardizirane verzije upitnika International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ). Izračunati su osnovni deskriptivni parametri: aritmetička sredina, standardna devijacija te minimalni i maksimalni rezultat. Povezanost između određenih varijabli utvrđena je Spearmanovim koeficijentom korelacije, a za utvrđivanje razlika korišten je Studentov t-test za nezavisne uzorke i ANOVA. Rezultati su pokazali da gotovo 80% odgajatelja ne ispunjava kriterije preporučene razine tjelesne aktivnosti. Najviše su tjelesno aktivni na poslu, a najmanje u prijevozu i tijekom slobodnog vremena. Utvrđena je statistički značajna povezanost između tjelesne aktivnosti i dobi, godina radnog staža, te mjesta rada. Mlađi odgajatelji značajno su više tjelesno aktivni u slobodno vrijeme od onih starije dobi, kao i oni s manje godina radnog staža, dok su odgajatelji koji rade u većem gradu više tjelesno aktivni na poslu, a oni iz manjih gradova više aktivni u kućanskim poslovima. Naglasak važnosti tjelesne aktivnosti odgajatelja očituje se u prevenciji vlastitog zdravlja i očuvanja sposobnosti ključnih za djelotvorni odgojno-obrazovni rad, ali i u prenošenju vrijednosti zdravog načina življenja na djecu rane i predškolske dobi koja navike bavljenja tjelesnom aktivnošću stječe upravo u toj dobi, a sve propuštene prilike za motorički razvoj u prvim godinama života, nisu nikada više nadoknadive.The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of the level of physical activity of educators in the Republic of Croatia and the differences in it with regard to their chronological age, years of service, level of education and place of work, all with the aim of improving the quality of life of children and adults. The research was conducted on a sample of 159 educators from different parts of the Republic of Croatia. The Croatian version of the standardized version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) was used. Basic descriptive parameters were calculated: arithmetic mean, standard deviation and minimum and maximum result. The correlation between certain variables was determined by Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and Student’s t-test for independent samples and ANOVA were used to determine the differences. The results showed that almost 80% of educators do not meet the criteria of the recommended level of physical activity. They are most physically active at work, and least in transportation and during their free time. A statistically significant correlation was found between physical activity and age, years of service, and place of work. Younger educators are significantly more physically active in their free time than older ones, as are those with fewer years of service, while educators working in a larger city are more physically active at work and those from smaller cities are more active in household chores. The emphasis on the importance of physical activity of educators is manifested in the prevention of their own health and preservation of abilities crucial for effective educational work, but also in transmitting the value of a healthy lifestyle to children of early and preschool age who acquire the habit for physical exercise precisely at that age while all those missed opportunities for motor development in the first years of life, they are never recoverable