Science and sport – new dimensions of cooperation

The problem of overweight and obesity among children and teenagers in Poland has been growing for many years and now affects more than 30 per cent of young people.

What contributes to this problem is the increasingly popular trend of spending free time in front of computer screens or smartphones. The lockdown during the COVID pandemic also had quite a role in this phenomenon.

As we all know, lack of exercise is the shortest and fastest route to obesity and the range of health problems caused by it, including in the emotional sphere. This is why it is so important to do everything possible to reverse this trend and get children and teenagers more physically active.

We are not indifferent either!

On Tuesday, 9 May, we had the pleasure of hosting Łukasz Żygadło, former player of the Polish national volleyball team, and Zbigniew Kałuża, chairman of the board of the KAR-TEL company and co-owner of the Piast Gliwice sports club.

Together with Prof. Marek Gzik, director of the EHTIC, Prof. Robert Michnik, Vice-Dean for Cooperation and Development, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, and Prof. Jacek Jurkojc from the Department of Biomechatronics, they discussed the possibility of building a system of scientific support for the assessment of sports predispositions and the progress of sports training in children and young people.

Integrating modern technologies into sports training opens up a number of new possibilities in the area of supporting young athletes, assessing their physical condition, improving their skills or eliminating mistakes.

We are convinced that combining the strength, knowledge and experience of representatives of both fields will bring tangible benefits to future generations of athletes.