THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND THE BODY MASS INDEX OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR PHYSIOTHERAPY AND MEDICAL NURSES / TECHNICIANS

Sa？etak The main aim of this study was to research the level of physical activity of the 3rd and 4th grade students of the secondary school of physiotherapists in relation to the activity of students studying to become nurses or general nursing technicians and to determine whether the level of physical activity of the students is related to their body mass index. The study was conducted on a sample of 106 students and students in a high school Pakrac, aged 16 to 20 years. Of the total sample, 52 were physiotherapists, and 54 nurses / general care technicians. The students’ body height and weight were measured to calculate the body mass index based on these data and the students filled in the Fels PAQ for Children, a generally accepted standard assessment questionnaire for assessing the physical activity of children and adolescents from 7 to 19 years of age. The results have shown that the level of physical activity in this case was not related to the body mass index, in the less active physical subjects do not have a larger body mass index. The results also showed that physiotherapists are physically more active than nurses / general nursing technicians (p = 0,041). There were no differences in the level of physical activity between female physiotherapists and nurses, while in the case of male students this difference was significant as the future male physiotherapists had a higher level of physical activity than the future medical technicians