For Slovenian science and its transfer into practice

Unfortunately, national funding for our research is quite limited. Therefore, we more often look abroad to obtain research funding. The main national funder of our research is the Slovenian Research Agency, which is currently financing our core research activities within a programme group, as well as one basic research project.

The Path to Adulthood (SLO: Pot v odraslost)                                                                                                       

This is a longitudinal cohort study that examines the influence of childhood physical activity on physical fitness and health in adulthood, while also taking into account lifestyle factors at different stages of life. Longitudinal studies are very rare globally, making this research inherently valuable, if not time consuming.

The research is based on rich data gathered from the ARTOS (ENG: ACDSi) and ŠVK (ENG: SLOFit) studies, which first began data collection decades ago. As part of this project, we will also conduct novel measurements using the SLOfit Adults program, which evaluates physical fitness in adulthood. The study aims to include at least 1,000 adults aged 30 to 55 who have their own physical fitness data from their school years. The updated measurements will take place in more than ten Slovenian locations where past school measurements were conducted, including: Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Škofja Loka, Tolmin, Izola, Jesenice, and Ptuj.

A key element of the project is its participatory citizen science approach. Participants in the study are not just subjects; they are active co-creators of knowledge. Through their data, experiences, and involvement in all aspects of the research process, they will contribute to more relevant and useful scientific findings. Using the Moj SLOfit app, they have access to their data from both childhood and the present, and the participants receive expert support and feedback on their health throughout the project.

In the end, this project will collect an extensive dataset on physical activity, nutrition, sleep, habits, and other lifestyle factors, which will form the basis of more rigorous scientific publications and professional recommendations. All data will be processed in accordance with the highest standards of personal data protection and the principles of open science. The project will run until 2027, and represents a significant contribution to understanding the diverse factors that can influence an individual's health throughout their entire lifespan.

zMIGAJ

The aim of the zMIGAJ! program is to work with young people to develop and co-design innovative extracurricular physical activity programs. These programs will encourage them to be as physically active as possible and help them gain the necessary competencies to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

The program is intended for high schools and people living in student dormitories, and its main goals are:

• To use a collaborative co-design approach with students to plan and implement innovative physical activity programs that will add two extra hours of high-quality physical exercise to their weekly schedules.
• To introduce one hour of weekly exercise for both the school and dormitory staff.
• To present the positive effects of regular exercise—tailored to adolescents' interests and school capabilities—on their health, well-being, and physical fitness. This includes stress relief, improved work capacity, and the prevention of work-related injuries.

The zMIGAJ program's background is rooted in the fact that as adolescents transition to high school, they have fewer and fewer affordable and easily accessible exercise programs available to them. Furthermore, they usually have very little or no »say« in the design of these programs. With this project, we want to test how co-designed physical activity programs could be implemented in high schools.

The SLOfit team is tasked with designing the professional guidelines for creating these innovative physical activity programs for students in vocational schools, high schools, and dormitories. These guidelines will follow the latest research findings and best practices from abroad, while also being nationally adapted for the Slovenian educational environment.

Based on this, the team will prepare a professional development program for the program instructors, who may have varying levels of competence. This means that the programs can be led by physical education teachers, as well as graduates and master's degree holders from other university sports programs (kinesiologists, coaches), and in exceptional cases, teachers of other subjects. Furthermore, the SLOfit team will provide professional support to the instructors for the implementation and evaluation of the programs.

The operation is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund ESF+ 2021-2027.

GameOn: An Innovative Project to Promote Physical Literacy and Social Connection Among Youth

The GameOn project encourages primary and secondary school students and teachers to co-create innovative physical games and challenges. These activities are based on the results of SLOfit measurements or physical skill diagnostics using modern exercise principles. The project's goal is to develop physical and health literacy in adolescents whilst also promoting creativity, cooperation, and empathy within classrooms. This approach helps young people understand the importance of different types of movement and intensity, laying the foundation for a lifetime of physical activity. It also strengthens collaboration and team spirit among students, which in turn helps reduce peer violence. Students and their teachers will analyze their physical abilities and set goals for improvement. They then co-create rules for physical games that ensure everyone is included equally, encourage sportsmanship, and provide for safe, continuous movement. They test, refine, and prepare a final version of the games for publication on the project's interactive platform. This platform is a hub for sharing ideas, games, and challenges. Game submissions include video clips and instructions. The platform allows schools to share ideas with one another and to rate games based on popularity and difficulty. The most successful games receive practical prizes, which further motivates participants and encourages the spread of good practices. An important part of the project is the GameOn Festival, where students present and play the co-created games within their schools and at regional and national events. This system of events strengthens classroom connections, enables healthy competition between schools, and promotes social connection among young people. With the support of the Faculty of Sport, the Institute of Sport of the Republic of Slovenia Planica, and the SLOfit platform, the GameOn project offers a comprehensive solution for promoting the health and physical activity of young people. GameOn activities are more than just games—they are an innovative path towards fostering a healthier, more active, and more connected life that extends beyond individual schools and spreads to national and international levels.

The Importance of Open Urban Spaces for Healthy Growing Up and Active Aging (partner org. UL FŠ)

This is a multidisciplinary research project that connects urban planning with public health. It focuses primarily on the impact of open space on the physical activity and health of children and the elderly in the city. The project addresses neglected topics in Slovenian urban planning practice, which are often subordinated to other motives during the transition period. It uses both quantitative and qualitative methods, such as spatial data analysis, survey questionnaires, focus groups, and an art competition. The goal is to determine how to embed physical activity into the lifestyle of children, thereby making it a healthy habit for life, and also to reduce mobility dependence and the dependence of the elderly on long-term care, while extending their capacity for work. The results will be presented to the professional and general public, as well as to urban planners and politicians who can contribute to a healthy lifestyle for residents through better spatial planning. You can find more about the project at the provided link.

Bio-Psycho-Social Contexts of Kinesiology

This is a research program group that focuses on several target populations: children and youth, adults, and the elderly. By creating a synergy between research across the lifespan, this programme group aims to maximize the interpretive effects and practical applicability of various ongoing research findings. Specifically, within the area of children and youth, we study developmental trends and environmental influences on the physical and motor development of Slovenian children and youth. The research program primarily focuses on connecting the effects of human movement with social sciences such as pedagogy, sociology, psychology, economics, and gerontology, as well as the field of medicine. Subprojects designed within this framework, and through their synergy, aim to progress our understanding the factors that define human movement and quality of life, in a multi-disciplinary way.