Kinesiology for Quality of Life

ARIS Code: P5-0381

Period: 1. 1. 2022 – 31. 12. 2027

Head of research programme: Rado Pišot, PhD

Kinesiology for quality of life is gaining on the importance. With evolution and technological development we started neglecting one of fundamental biological needs-movement, and forgotten about the important role it plays and the effects that it has on our the health and function. The general lack of physical activity (PA), the ageing of the population, the earlier onset of degenerative processes, a sedentary lifestyle, an unbalanced diet, environmental and ergonomic effects and extreme workload are factors that directly affect the individual’s performance and efficiency and quality of life. The spiral model of effects of physical inactivity (PI) puts at its base 3 fundamental factors: the lack of PA and motor competences and obesity. These factors often work simultaneously, and lead to irrational PA, excessive energy consumption and rapid fatigue, and consequently manifest in negative physical and motor self-esteem, which affect the quality of life, and the alienation from social activity. Based on theoretical considerations and sci. evidence, we established a framework for further research through the prism of 3 periods of motor development: (1) of establishing motor competences; (2) of the usage of motor competences; and (3) of preserving motor competences. Few are aware of the need to consider PI separately from PA. Experts rank PI at the top of the list of mortality factors. In our important publication, we reported that there is a strong combined effect of ageing and PI on the parameters that influence the overall health and causes irreversible changes on the skeletal muscle. In the future, we will be centered on the study of the skeletal muscle adaptation mechanisms to chronic exercise and PI in relation to age, gender and the environment. To achieve this, we will continue to develop new non-invasive diagnostic methods of muscle properties. Since we have used innovative solutions for measuring skeletal muscle properties 15 years ago, we can repeat these measurements on the same population and respond to the causal relationship of the muscle properties developments from childhood to adulthood. We will moreover focus on interventions, based on a greater exploitation of the existing school curriculum, and later also on the introduction of interventions to increase PA. We will study the mechanisms of sports injuries (and predictions), rehabilitation and safe return to sport. We will also be interested in kinesiologic-ergonomic factors of health in the workplace, as the working environment is an example of existing cohorts, in the scope of which we can look for good practice of health care. The effects of ageing or countering the aging and comorbidity will be analyzed through controlled experiments of dimensioning of exercise for different target groups on which to base the development of clinical kinesiology. We believe that the latter will offer young generations a new branch of education, profession and employment opportunities.