PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND THE AGE OF RESPONDENTS FROM INDEPENDENT CULTURAL CENTERS IN POLAND

Background
The purpose of the following research is to present the physical activity of a niche group – people from Independent Cultural Centers (ICCs) – and to show the relationship between physical activity and the age of the respondents.

Material and methods
The study group consisted of people between the ages of 19 and 46 who were active in associations that form ICCs in Poland (in Warsaw, Lublin, Gliwice, and Wroclaw). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF) was used to identify the level of physical activity. In order to show the differences between the physical activity of older and younger respondents, they were divided into two groups: 1st group ≤ 30 years, 2nd group ≥ 31 years.

Results
The analyses showed that the age of the respondents has an impact on the physical activity undertaken. More favorable, statistically significant results in analyses of vigorous physical activity (VPA) and moderate physical activity (MPA) were obtained by the younger group.

Conclusions
Participation in physical activity declines with age. There is a need to create an offer that encourages leisure-time physical activity that is attractive to older groups. Despite the more favorable analysis results of the younger group’s declared physical activity, the results of the older respondents compare favorably to the groups in the studies conducted by other authors. This may indicate that the offer prepared by the associations that make up ICCs is adequately adapted to the needs of the respondents.