The Intensity of the Health Behaviors of People Who Practice Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby and Para-Rowing.

Sports serve people with disabilities as a form of rehabilitation. Sporting activity is a health-promoting behavior choice and a chance to achieve the best possible sports results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intensity of health behaviors in people practicing wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and para-rowing. The study encompassed 176 athletes with disabilities, aged 19 to 49 (mean age 34.41 ± 8.56), from all over Poland. Men accounted for 83.5% of the respondents. They all had a significant degree of disability and used wheelchairs in their daily lives. The authors used Juczynski's Health Behavior Inventory (HBI) and the authors' own survey questionnaire. Nonparametric tests were used. A greater intensity of health behaviors in general (HBI­point score) and in four categories (correct eating habits­CEH, preventive behaviors­PB, positive mental attitude­PMA, health practices­HP) was observed in rugby and basketball players (compared with para-rowers). Disabled rowers achieved the poorest results. Polish Champions scored better results in preventive behaviors (PB) and weaker results in positive mental attitude (PMA)compared with those practicing amateur sport. Respondents who trained every day and had the longest weekly exercise time (>360 min) achieved the highest results in HBI in general and in all categories compared with those who trained once a week for less than 120 min a week. Respondents with higher education, those in a better financial situation, those who were employed and married, and those who were rural residents displayed a greater intensity of health-related behaviors. People in a more difficult financial situation, who had less education, who were cohabiting, and who lived on only a pension presented more preventive behaviors. There is a need for systemic health education aimed at people with disabilities who practice various sports disciplines.

Physical Fitness as Part of the Health and Well-Being of Students Participating in Physical Education Lessons Indoors and Outdoors.

The analysis of existing information on physical activity and fitness as elements of health and well-being reveals that they are achieved particularly effectively in contact with nature. Physical education lessons outdoors, as a form of healthy training, have been performed in numerous countries for years, providing a response to the traditional indoor model of this kind of education. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the participation of students in outdoor and indoor lesson activities and the change in their physical fitness. 220 students participated in an experimental study. The experimental group, which did exercise usually in open spaces, included 49 boys and 54 girls. The control group, which exercised inside school, consisted of 63 boys and 54 girls. The study period lasted two years and involved the fifth and sixth form of primary school. Experimental group subjects were 11.26 years old (±0.32) during the initial test, and the control group individuals were 11.28 years (±0.32). During the final test, the average ages of experimental group subjects was 12.96 years (±0.32), and 12.98 years (±0.32) in the control group. The International Physical Activity Test was applied in the study. The differences between the levels of particular components of physical fitness were not statistically significant during the initial measurement (p-values ranged from p = 0.340 to p = 0.884). After two years of outdoor physical education lessons, there was revealed a considerable increase in the speed, jumping ability, and aerobic endurance of the students. Statistically significant differences were observed in these three tests, including running speed (p = 0.001), legs power (p = 0.001), and endurance (p = 0.000). The findings encourage one to continue pedagogical experiments regarding physical activity in outdoor natural environments.