Sports Medicine

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Received: January 01, 1970 | Published: ,

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Summary

This article presents sociological researches conducted among representatives of various social groups, which have established the basic motives of physical culture at the present stage of development of society.

Keywords: physical culture, motivation, social survey, social groups

Introduction

The 21st century is characterized by progress in the technogenic development of society and the equally rapid destruction of the natural, physical and psychological properties of a person. The more powerful the intellect becomes, the greater the gap between brain and body. The way of life of a person ceased to coincide with the biological scheme of life. Human being as a biological object has undergone minor changes, while civilization has made a giant leap during this time. The man did not have time to adapt. A contradiction arose between the achievements of civilization and the adaptive capabilities of man. This gave rise to diseases and ailments due to a sharp decrease in physical activity, an increase in psychological tension, environmental degradation, etc.^1,2

Without a certain amount of constant motor activity, a person cannot use in his life what is inherent in him by nature, he cannot work productively, be healthy and happy. Muscular activity as the most natural and strongest stimulus capable of changing the state of the human body plays a special role in the formation of the most important mechanisms of its vital activity. People who consciously relate to physical self-education are stronger intellectually and physically, they endure all social and domestic inconveniences more easily.^3-5

Tasks and methods

Within the framework of the state project on the problems of organizing and conducting sports and recreational activities with the population of the Republic of Moldova, sociological studies of representatives of various social groups have been carried out, which made it possible to establish the main patterns of motivation for physical culture/fitness.

Results and discussion

The survey involved 580 people aged 19-55, that are engaged in various types of physical activity/fitness (330 men and 250 women). All respondents made up five social groups (Figure 1) students, unemployed (housewives, etc.), hired workers of manual labour (HWML), hired knowledge workers (HKW), private entrepreneurs (owners/co-owners of a business). At the same time, it should be noted that the last category of respondents was not identified among the female contingent involved.

Figure 1 Social group of respondents.

As we can see, the respondents who are hired knowledge workers (38%) and private entrepreneurs (32%) have priorities in physical exercises. Probably, this given category of respondents is more in need of this kind of activity, which is associated with the limited mobility during the working day. A smaller composition is represented by the groups of respondents of non-working (6%) and hired workers of manual labour (10%). If the size of the first social group can be justified by financial insolvency, then the low motivation for physical exercises of the second group can be explained by the high physical load resulting from professional activity.

14% of respondents are represented by students. The small composition of this social group is due to the presence of training sessions of this orientation. As a result, those young people who want to either improve their physical abilities or form a beautiful shape are additionally engaged in physical culture. As a result of the survey, it was revealed that the main motive for physical culture/fitness among men is health promotion; this is especially evident among hired manual workers (67%). In other social groups, the distribution of this motive is approximately the same percentage (Figure 2). This distribution of answers is mediated by the type of activity of the respondents, where manual workers pay more attention to their Health, on which their level of labour productivity depends.

Figure 2 Prioritization of the motive Health promotion for physical activity.

This is followed by such motives as an increase in muscle mass (employed manual workers – 33%; non-working people – 20%; students – 18%; (Figure 3) and an increase in emotional mood (employed knowledge workers– 29%; private entrepreneurs– 23%; students – 18%; (Figure 4).

Figure 3 The distribution of priorities of the motive "Increasing power capabilities" for doing physical activity.

Figure 4 Prioritization of the motive "Increased emotional mood" for doing physical activity.

If the motive for increasing muscle mass and strength capabilities for HWML is determined by the type of professional activity, then for students and non-workers it is due to the fashion for the muscular relief of the body. At the same time, we observe that the motive for raising the emotional mood for doing fitness is more related to respondents who are either engaged in monotonous activities (HKW) or who have a lot of contact communication (students, private entrepreneurs).

Only a small number of people are interested in the motive for achieving high sports results, mainly among the unemployed (5%), while representatives of other social groups did not indicate this reason.

A somewhat different picture is observed when interviewing women. The strongest motive for physical culture/fitness for them is to increase the emotional mood (Figure 5) especially in employees of knowledge work (31%). However, students (29%) and employees of physical work (28%) are also not far from being interested in raising a good mood, relieving psychological stress after a school and work day. This is due to the gender characteristics of women. A woman expresses her emotions more freely. Emotions become not a starting point, but a product. They are not parallel to the mind, but directly dependent on it. Gender psychology shows that women's emotions are more logical, because they are not separated from the mind.

Figure 5 Prioritization of the motive "Increased emotional mood" for doing physical activity.

The second place is occupied by the motive of maintaining physical fitness, where hired manual labourers are especially concerned about this (28%). This provision is consistent with the choice of the male contingent of respondents the remaining answers are distributed approximately evenly (Figure 6).

Figure 6 The distribution of priorities for the reason "Maintaining physical fitness" for doing physical activity.

Next comes the motive for getting rid of excess weight. This is most pronounced among non-working respondents – 33% and students – 24% (Figure 7). If for non-working respondents this is a panacea, since there are no other occupations, then for students this can be explained by their youth, the desire to look good in the eyes of their peers and the people around them.

Figure 7 Prioritization of the reason "Getting rid of excess weight" for physical activity.

And only the fourth position is occupied by the motive of health promotion (Figure 8) and to a greater extent this is taken care of by the employees of knowledge work (23%), unemployed persons (22%), and students (19%). If students who do not have life experience do not pay close attention to their current health, then other respondents, in our opinion, are confident in themselves, in their vitality, like any modern woman.

Figure 8 Prioritization of the reason "Health promotion" for physical activity.

During the survey, additional questions were asked, as a result of which it can be concluded that for both men and women, the prevailing factor in refusing to engage in physical culture/fitness is the lack of time. At the same time, in almost all social groups, the reasons for refusing to practice can be both a lack of desire to do it, and the high cost of these services, as well as injuries and illnesses, which is manifested in 25% of women. The poor material and technical base of sports facilities is mainly mentioned by the owners of their own business, which is due to their high demands on these facilities. Knowledge employed workers (50%) indicate that there are no programs suitable for them, although the high percentage of choice for this reason may be due to the insufficient number of interviewed people from this social group.

Conclusion

Thus, the defining reason for practicing health-improving physical culture/fitness among men is health promotion. This is especially evident among hired manual labourers. Among women, the strongest motive for training is an increase in emotional mood, which can be linked to everyday psychological stress, which is observed in this category of respondents, both at work and at home.