DIFFERENCES IN THE LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BETWEEN GIRLS AND BOYS OF YOUNGER SCHOOL AGE

Abstract

This paper aims to determine the physical activity levels of younger school-age pupils concerning gender. The study involved 190 third-grade pupils (98 male and 92 female) from elementary schools in Čakovec. Physical activity was examined with the Fels physical activity questionnaire for children (Treuth et al., 2005), used to assess the physical activity level of children aged 7 to 19. Basic descriptive parameters were calculated, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was applied to examine differences in the TA level with respect to gender. The results showed that 66.3% of boys and only 34% of girls fall within the recommended daily physical activity. Furthermore, significant differences were obtained in the field of sports (p = 0.00), leisure time (p = 0.00), and total physical activity (p = 0.00). Boys are significantly more active in sports, leisure time, and total physical activity, while no significant difference between the genders was obtained in the field of physical activity in housework. The research showed that the total level of physical activity in this sample is very low in girls because only a third meet the recommended daily physical activities. Therefore, promoting and teaching physical activity is necessary at an early school age since entering puberty significantly reduces physical activity in both genders.