A healthy lifestyle is defined as a lifestyle, enabling the individual to live a life of quality, to maintain and strengthen his health and develop optimally in at the physical, cognitive, emotional and social level. Behaviours, which are a part of a healthy lifestyle, are diet, physical activity, sleep, sedentary behaviours and risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol).
For the purposes of the thesis, we have carried out a research to identify the attitude of 8th grade students from Prekmurje towards behaviours, connected to a healthy lifestyle. We were also interested in the differences concerning the gender and place of residence of the students. The data was obtained with the help of a questionnaire. The research included 138 8th grade students from four primary schools in Prekmurje. The analysis of the results showed that the questioned students mostly reach the recommendations regarding physical activity. We assess that students do not reach the recommendations regarding sleep and healthy eating habits. Worrying is also the time the students are daily spending to watch TV and use their phone, but less often, the risky behaviour is connected with smoking and the use of alcohol. We found that female students mostly have a better attitude towards healthy eating habits than male students, but the differences between female and male students regarding their place of residence have not been identified. Just under a half of the students assess that their eating habits are medium healthy. Students mostly trust the advice about a healthy lifestyle, provided by their parents and doctors, a little less the advice of their friends and the least the advice of teachers. Considering the results of the research, it is reasonable to form and perform different effective strategies for students in the fields of encouraging and ensuring healthy eating habits, a proper quantity of sleep and also make attempts to decrease the amount of sedentary behaviours. The school has an important role in this, since it can organize additional lectures and workshops about the identified topics, where students and parents can be an active part. Within the regular learning program, teachers can raise awareness about the influence of these factors on their health and welfare and try to use concrete activities to encourage them to change their behaviour. Within different free physical activities, teachers can encourage students to spend their spare time actively. Important is also that parents support physical activities in the domestic environment and for all professional school workers to be of a good example.
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