SENSE OF SATISFACTION WITH LIFE VERSUS DIETARY CHOICES OF FEMALE FITNESS INSTRUCTORS FROM FITNESS CLUBS IN KRAKOW

Abstract

Introduction. Life satisfaction is one of important personal resources that promote health-related behaviors and health improvement. Aim of the work. The aim of the work was to analyze relations between the sense of satisfaction with life and the frequency of consuming selected products in the group of young women who work as fitness instructors. Material and methods. The study involved 200 women aged 20-32 (25.0±3.4) working as fitness instructors in Krakow fitness clubs. The tools used in the study were an original questionnaire to measure the frequency of group products consumption and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by Diener et al. The results were analyzed with the use of U Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients in a statistical package PQStat ver. 1.6. Results. Statistical analysis showed that as the sense of satisfaction with life in young women increased, the frequency of consuming raw vegetable oils and/or nuts also grew (p<0.05). The comparison of mean frequency of consuming food products depending on the level of satisfaction with life (low vs high in the SWLS scale) showed that women with high levels of satisfaction more often ate saltwater fish (p<0.05) as well as oils and/or nuts (p<0.001) than did women with low satisfaction levels. Conclusions. The study proved the predictive role of satisfaction with life with regard to quality aspects of diet of female fitness instructors. Women with higher levels of this personal resource tend to display more rational dietary choices.