THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON THE OCCURRENCE OF OBESITY AND UNDERNUTRITION IN THE ADOLESCENT POPULATION
Tatjana BLAZHEVSKA, Valentina VELKOVSKI, Marija MENKINOSKA, Vesna ANTOSKA KNIGHTS. Katerina TEMELKOVSKA RISTEVSKA, Jelena SPASOVSKA JANEVSKA, Angjelka JANKULOVSKA, Nina DIMOVSKA
Abstract
Adolescence is a period of intense physical, emotional, and social changes. It is the stage of the most rapid growth in height and body mass, as well as increased energy needs. Unsatisfied with their appearance, adolescents may experience significant emotional lows that can affect them later in life.
The occurrence of obesity among adolescents is considered one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century and the second leading preventable cause of death.
The main aim of this research is to determine how often adolescents engage in physical activity, for how long, and how this affects the occurrence of obesity and undernutrition.
The study was conducted on a sample of 409 high school students, of which 214 were girls and 195 were boys. In order to fulfill the main objective, participants completed an anonymous questionnaire. The collected data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 20 statistical program and the EXCEL software (p<0.05).
From the conducted research, we can conclude that adolescents who are at a significantly higher risk of obesity do not engage in daily physical activity, while the risk of developing undernutrition is present among adolescents who engage in daily physical activity for 90 minutes or more. Based on the summarized results, recommendations are made for the application of physical activity as a primary goal in improving health and physical condition.
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