The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Initiated and Non-Initiated Physical Activity in Physical Education and Other Teachers

Batel Gonda Gili Joseph
Physical Education and Movement, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, Tel Aviv, Israel

Regular exercise is known to reduce risks such as heart failure, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and osteoporosis. It decreases stress and depression, increases productivity, and improves mental and cognitive functioning. In recent years, awareness has grown of the importance of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). NEAT reduces sitting time, prevents obesity, and is a major component of the daily energy expenditure. Most of the adult population, including teachers, spends most of their working hours sitting down, resulting in a steady decline in energy expenditure, leading to obesity, and poor health. Physical education teachers are an exception and are considered physically active.

This study examines the level of initiated and non-initiated activity of teachers in Israel (measured by the number of their daily steps), and examines whether physical education teachers are more active and more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle than teachers of other subjects of study. A pedometer was attached to all the teachers for a month, counting their daily number of steps. The teachers also completed a daily and weekly self-report questionnaire indicating the level of their initiated physical activity, as well as a questionnaire that revealed their views on leading a healthy lifestyle.

The teachers of other subjects carried out more initiated physical activity than that reported by physical education teachers. However, the daily number of steps made by physical education teachers was significantly higher than that of teachers of other subjects. The teachers of other subjects did not reach the recommended number of steps (10,000 per day) even though they were physically active during their leisure time. This underscores the importance of avoiding excessive sitting during the day and places emphasis on greater mobility and greater non-initiated physical activity, without giving up strict and planned physical activity.

Batel Gonda
Batel Gonda








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