Physical activity and physical fitness levels of convicts/detainees remaining in closed penalty execution institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the levels of physical activity and physical fitness of convicts/detainees in Gaziantep L Type Closed Penal Execution Institution differ according to the age and length of the sentence and their relationship with the time spent in prison. Overall, 463 male convicts/detainees participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 30.05 (SD= 8.66). The Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and Physical Fitness Questionnaire were used to collect data. Within the scope of the research, the necessary ethics committee approval and permissions were obtained from official institutions before data was collected. Only volunteer convicts/detainees were included in the research. In terms of research findings, a difference was found between the physical activity levels of convicts/detainees between age groups that the physical activity level of convicts/detainees aged 30 and lower was higher than those of convicts/detainees aged 41 and older, but the level of physical activity of convicts/detainees aged between 31-40 was similar to that of the other two age groups. The physical activity levels of the convicts/detainees did not make any difference in terms of the length of the penalty received. In general, physical activity level of convicts/detainees was found as "active" (30 years old and below) and "moderately active" (31-40 years old, 41 years old and above). It was found that the physical fitness level decreased with increasing age. Physical fitness levels of younger convicts/detainees were higher. In terms of the sentence period received, the level of physical activity showed a difference, and the physical fitness level of the convicts/detainees, whose sentence was 10 years or less, were found to be higher than those of 11-20 years or more. However, in general, physical fitness levels of convicts/detainees emerged as “inactive”. While the findings obtained showed high levels of physical activity based on the statements of convicts/detainees, they do not indicate the same positive finding at the level of physical fitness. For this reason, it is recommended to conduct more research on physical fitness and physical activity levels of convicts/detainees and to examine them with different samples.

Keywords

• physical activity,leisure time physical activity,physical fitness,convict,detainee

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