Shaping proper health attitudes in young people has an essential meaning for their health in the future. The age of youth is a period when pro-health attitudes set in and behaviours risky for health appear. Monitoring them is the starting point for planning prophylaxis programmes realised by schools. Health attitudes of girls completing their education in secondary schools was the subject of this study, and the main goal was to assess dependencies between the degree of intensity of health attitudes and nutritional behaviours, the level of physical activity and the value of the body mass index (BMI). In the school year 2010/2011 research among randomly chosen pupils of secondary schools in Gdańsk was conducted. Basic anthropometric measurements of the studied 3 rd grade schoolgirls (body height, body mass, evaluation of body composition) were carried out. A questionnaire consisting of 3 parts concerning health attitudes was the basic research tool. Irregularities in nutritional behaviours in the studied schoolgirls were revealed, and in particular resignation from eating the first breakfast, insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruit. It was noticed that the level of physical activity investigated by IPAQ questionnaire is at a low level. The majority of girls showed a low or average level of health attitudes (HA). Learning about health attitudes will allow schools to diagnose these behaviours and to prepare proper programmes promoting health.
Introduction. Neighbourhood impact on health has been the subject of many studies. They demonstrated that the health status of both adults and children depends, among other things, on the local environment. In turn, obesity in children and adolescents remains a major health problem in developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and underweight in children and adolescents (6-18-years-old) studying in schools located in different districts of Gdańsk, northern Poland. Material and method. The study was conducted in the 2008-2009 school year in the 6th largest city in Poland-Gdańsk (456,967 inhabitants). The study group comprised 25,609 children and adolescents, including 13,000 boys and 12,609 girls. The international standard IOTF (International Obesity Task Force) was used to determine overweight and underweight. Results. The incidence of overweight in the group was 19.15%, and of underweight 10.83%. Differences in the prevalence of these anomalies between particular Gdańsk districts were statistically significant (p = 0.0000). Underweight was observed in 12.32% of the examined girls and in 9.39% of boys. The statistically significant (chi2 test) prevalence of overweight and underweight depending on the district needs further clarification. Conclusion. Knowledge of these determinants is essential for creating effective health promotion programmes. It seems that in searching for determinants in future studies, the influence of the contextual factor should be considered.
The body image is one of the most important components of self-esteem which corresponds with the psycho-physical health of the individual. The purpose of the study was to search for the relationship between the actual figure and body image. The research was conducted in 2014 among 830 adolescents. Sample selection was random. Actual figure was defined by the body composition, BMI and the distribution of body fat. Body image was assessed with Stunkard's Figure Rating Scale. Statistical analysis was performed based on the software Statistical Package for Social Science. The results of the analysis indicate that there is a significant strong correlation between the real somatic self assessment and actual figure, and the strongest indicator for the development of self-image is BMI and fat mass. The results also indicated that real somatic self is explained in 49%, and ideal somatic self in approx. 30% Stable body self-esteem is an essential part of human mental health and an appropriate level of body fat which allows to determine the actual figure, can protect individuals from many civilization diseases in the future.
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