Level , types, and barriers to physical activity of 13-to 14-year-old children

Physical activity has significant health benefits in young people, but many do not meet established guidelines to improve physical activity levels, which is a significant health concern. More research on potential barriers to youth physical activity participation is required to raise awareness of young people's physical activity. Based on that, the main objective of this study was to analyze the engagement of senior elementary school students in physical activities, depending on gender. In addition, factors that could be potential barriers to preventing students from participating in physical activities will be analyzed. It is assumed that there are significant differences between boys and girls aged 13 and 14 in terms of their participation in physical activities. The sample consisted of a total of 721 subjects with an average age of 14.3 ± 0.7, of which 372 were boys and 349 were girls. For the purposes of this research, a survey questionnaire (Mitić et al., 2010) was used, which contains a total of 17 questions, divided into three groups. For statistical processing, non-parametric tests, the Chi-square test (2), were used to examine the significance of the difference. The Chi-square test (2) was used to evaluate the match between the observed and theoretical frequencies in each group and measure the significance of the difference between them. The Chi-square test of independence was used to compare the differences between the male and female groups. The results of the 2 test of independence showed that there is a statistically significant difference between boys and girls in the frequency of exercise (p≤0.01). The results of the 2 test showed that there are no statistically significant differences between the groups of boys and girls in the choice of place and method of exercise (Sig. > .05). The results showed that both boys and girls have barriers to practicing physical activities, but that they do not differ significantly. This study showed that there are significant differences between boys and girls regarding the frequency of participation in physical activities. Recently, research activities in this area have increased significantly. However, there is not enough good quality research on evaluations and effectiveness of interventions, strategies for overcoming barriers to participation in physical activities, as well as on promoting physical activity for socially disadvantaged groups of children.