[Declared attitudes of girls with Turner's syndrome towards physical education classes].

Abstract

Objectives: To learn the attitudes and opinions of girls with Turner's syndrome about physical education classes and to determine the level of physical activity of those girls by applying the MVPA (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) index.

Material and methods: A group of 36 girls with Turner's syndrome, aged 10-19 years, participants of a summer camp at the sea shore in 2004, were subjected to a questionnaire study. The resulting MVPA index served as an indicator of the degree of physical activity.

Results: About one-fourth of girls were chronically disqualified by physicians from physical education (PE) classes, 69% declared they "liked" or "liked very much" PE classes, but only 29% stated that the degree of difficulty of PE activities matched the abilities of schoolchildren. Mean MVPA value in those girls amounted to 3.5 days a week and only 19% of girls met the recommended level of 5 or more days a week.

Summary and conclusions: The girls with Turner's syndrome had good opinions of their PE teachers but the participation of those girls in physical activities was unsatisfactory. The teachers ought to seek efficient ways to motivate schoolchildren for increasing their physical activities and their participation in various forms of sport and leisure activities.