The Effect Of A Healthy Fitness Program On Improving The Physical Fitness Level Of Students With Lower Levels Of Physical Fitness

Abstract

Objective: This research aimed to design a specialized physical nutrition program for first-year students in the College of Physical Education who have low levels of physical fitness and to assess its impact on specific components of health-related physical fitness, namely flexibility, strength, muscular endurance, and respiratory endurance.

Materials and Methods: The study involved first-year students at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Dhi Qar, identified as having low physical fitness levels. It employed an experimental research approach using a single-group pre-test and post-test design, which was deemed appropriate for the study's objectives. The research was conducted from December 6, 2023, to April 8, 2024, utilizing the college’s sports fields and physical fitness laboratory as the implementation sites. The main hypothesis proposed that there would be statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level between the average scores of the pre- and post-tests in favor of the post-test results.

Results: The findings of the study indicated statistically significant improvements in all tested components of health-related physical fitness. The post-test scores showed clear progress compared to the pre-test scores in flexibility, strength, muscular endurance, and respiratory endurance, thus confirming the effectiveness of the physical nutrition program.

Conclusion: It was concluded that the physical nutrition and health program effectively improved health-related fitness components among students with initially low physical fitness levels. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that increasing the amount of time spent on physical activity is positively associated with improved fitness. Therefore, the integration of such programs into undergraduate physical education curricula is essential, particularly for students who begin their studies with below-average levels of physical fitness.