An examination of the correlation between healthy lifestyle behaviors in young horse riders and anthropometric measurements and cardiopulmonary parameters

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between healthy lifestyle behaviors in young horse riders and the results of anthropometric measurements and cardiopulmonary parameters. The study was conducted with 60 young horse riders aged between 18 and 30 who agreed to participate in the study, and who were active in the sport of horse riding and were registered in the Horse Riding and Trainership Program of the Mennan Pasinli Equestrian Vocational College of Bursa Uludağ University between 30.07.2019 – 02.01.2020. An Individual Description Form and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale (HLBS) II were used in the collection of data. Anthropometric and cardiopulmonary measurements were made and recorded for each rider who responded to the questionnaires. Data evaluation was conducted using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.0. In the analysis of data, the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were used. According to the findings of the research, the participants' mean HLBS II total score was 144.90±24.07, and the variables of gender, father's employment status and the existence of a chronic illness affected their healthy lifestyle behaviors. a positive correlation was found between the mean score of the young riders on the sub-dimensions of physical activity and nutrition and their hip measurement (p<0.05), but no significant correlation was found between the mean scores on HLBS II and its sub-dimensions and the results of cardiopulmonary function parameter measurements (p>0.05). Also, a correlation was found between the riders' breathing rates and systolic blood pressure parameters and various anthropometric measurement results (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was found that the young riders' total score mean for healthy lifestyle behaviors was above a medium level, but that there was no correlation between the total score mean in the scale and the results of anthropometric measurements and cardiopulmonary parameters.