Assessment of professional longevity of sports educators using anthropometric indicators and analysis of the energy intensity of the diet

The professional health of sports educators (coaches, physical education teachers) in the scientific literature is studied mainly in the context of mental well-being, while their somatic health and physiological indicators remain without due attention. The aim is to conduct a comparative analysis of anthropometric indicators and the energy intensity of the diet of sports educators and active athletes to assess the feasibility of their in — depth study. 35 sports educators participated in the pilot study. The energy value of the diet was assessed by analyzing a weekly food diary, and the body mass index (BMI) was determined anthropometrically. A comparative analysis with the literature data on cyclical and non-playing sports athletes has been carried out. It was found that the average BMI values of sports teachers (men — 22.79 ± 1.83; women — 21.46 ± 2.83) and the caloric content of their daily diet (men — 2717 ± 509 kcal; women — 1804 ± 219 kcal) are statistically close to similar indicators for cyclical sports athletes. At the same time, 16 % of female teachers have a lack of body weight, 8 % have an excess of it. Objective data shows that the level of physiological stress and energy consumption of sports teachers is comparable to that of professional athletes. The results obtained emphasize the need to include an assessment of physical health and nutritional status in the comprehensive monitoring of the condition of this professional group, as well as the need to develop nutrition optimization programs for them.