HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOURS OF SUB-ELITE ATHLETES

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the health promoting behaviour levels of sub-elite athletes.

In this study, 68 male and 81 female totally 149 sub-elite athletes which were participated to the games of Turkish University Sport Federation, organized in Kayseri city, were participated volunteerly. Socio-demographic data form which included 3 personal question and “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” were applied to volunteers.

Statistical analysis were done by IBM SPSS 16.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) package program. The t-test for comparison between two independent groups and ANOVA for analysis of more than two groups were used. Post Hoc Tukey test was used to find the statistical difference among groups. The level of statistical error was 0.05.

When “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” total point and the sub-dimensions of the “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” analyzed according to gender, statistically meaningful difference was found at physical activity parameter (p<0.05) but meaningful difference was not found at the healthy responsibility, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, stress management, nutrition and “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” total point (p>0.05). When “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” total point and the sub-dimensions of the “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II” analyzed according to sport type and age, statistically significance was not observed (p>0.05).

In conclusion, It was so clear that there were no studies about health promoting behaviours of athletes. According to our findings, Turkish athletes needed to be informed about healthy promoting behaviors by coaches, universities and other health organizations. It was thought further studies needed to do about healthy promoting behaviors of different athlete groups.

Key Words: Healthy promoting Behaviour, Athletes, sub-elite