PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN ADOLESCENCE LEVELS CHANGES AND FACTORS OF INFLUENCE

Physical activity (PA) is considered a health imperative, so it is understandable that physical inactivity imposes a serious health threat. The fact that alarming decline in physical activity levels (PALs) occurs in adolescence is particularly concerning. Accordingly, the dissertation deals with PA issues among adolescents in regular conditions and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, changes and correlates of the PALs in the period from 14 to 18 years of age and in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic are investigated. Four presented studies analyze the specified problems in adolescents from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and are among the first studies that examined this issue in Southeastern Europe. The results are, to some extent, clarifying PA changes and factors influencing PALs, indicating significant gender and environmental differences, the association between cigarette smoking and PALs, and the association between parental/familial factors and PALs. Apart from giving the insight into background of changes in PALs in adolescence, the results obtained provide guidance in developing preventive strategies intended to reduce the decline in physical activity progressively happening in adolescents.