Selected Factors Influencing the Qualitative Level of Postural Health of Students in Slovakia

Abstract

The current modern lifestyle of the 21st century has acquired a hypokinetic and sedentary character among the school population, which was further strongly supported by the global Covid-19 pandemic. This further supported the space for the upward trend of diseases, which also include disorders in the musculoskeletal system, postural health. The aim of our study was to find out and point out the factors, which determine the quality of postural health in adolescent students, and their mutual relationships. The sample consisted of 518 students in Slovakia, 266 girls aged(x) 16.5 ± 2.1 years (body height(x) 169.6 ± 6.8 cm, body weight(x) 60.2 ± 7.2 kg) and 252 boys aged(x) 16.9 ± 1.9 years (body height(x) 177.3 ± 8.5 cm, body weight(x) 66.4 ± 7.1 kg). In terms of data acquisition methods in the observed, standardized methods of physical education and pedagogical practice were used. The findings show that in the overall physical regime of students there are significant differences between the genders to the detriment of girls (p < 0.05) in terms of volume of physical activities, frequency and intensity (p < 0.05). The sedentary lifestyle in both genders showed a lack of physical activity in association with poor posture (r = 0.789) (sagittal and frontal plane). Also, higher food intake than energy expenditure results in higher body weight in the sample, which was reflected in the lower limbs (LL to X, r = 0.717 and foot pain r = 0.739 and fallen arch r = 0.726). In the observed sample, incorrect wearing of school bags was also found, significantly (p < 0.05) to the detriment of girls, as well as wearing incorrect shoes for both genders. These findings suggest that there are risk factors in students' lifestyles that contribute to the quality of their postural health, which need to be given much more attention in terms of primary prevention in both school and out-of-school environments. This project was supported by VEGA 1/0427/22 "Prevention of students' postural health by physical activity".