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Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: This study examines the effects of physical education on the social capital of university students, focusing on improving family, neighborhood, and academic relationships through group exercise., Methods: In Zagreb, Croatia, 976 participants aged 19-20 years participated in a randomized controlled trial. The intervention group (n = 472) engaged in teamwork exercises, and the control group (n = 504) completed individual exercises. The social capital measured in 6 areas was analyzed using linear regression and variance modeling., Results: Significant improvements in trust and collaboration within the university environment were found in the intervention group. Adjusted analyses showed positive correlations between the physical education intervention and increased trust between teachers and students (β = 0.118, P = .01), among students (β = 0.246, P = .01), and in total social capital (β = 0.617, P = .01). Residence in the parental home was associated with higher social capital. Notably, male and older students reported lower levels of trust and cooperation., Conclusions: Physical activity significantly improves the social capital of university students, suggesting the inclusion of group-based physical activities in higher education curricula to promote social inclusion and well-being. This underscores the importance of such interventions for educational policy and program development.

The purpose of the research study was to standardize the measurement procedure and determine the reliability, homogeneity, and sensitivity of a 20 m unilateral horizontal cyclic jump test (UHCJ20m) whose intentional (assumed) measurement aim is the lower extremities' explosive strength. The subject sample consisted of 31 students from Zagreb University (20.68 ± 1.96 years of age, height 185.16 ± 7.19 cm, body mass 79.48 ± 9.23 kg) actively involved in various sports events. The UHCJ20m test was performed three times using a dominant (take-off) leg with an active rest of 15 min between the repetitions. The results showed that the UHCJ20m test had satisfactory sensitivity and a very high reliability: Cronbach α = 0.95, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.94 and homogeneity average intertrial correlation (AVR) = 0.88. Future research studies should be aimed at determining the metric characteristics of the UHCJ20m test with a population of athletes in sports characterized by start acceleration and maximum speed running.

Background: Little is known of how lifestyle factors might influence on body composition parameters in young adults from Croatia. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the lifestyle factors and body composition in young adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants were 271 university students (59.0% of women). Body composition was measured by using bioelectric impendance analysis (BIA). Blood pressure and heart rate were measured according to standardized protocol and Mediterranean diet adherence (MD), physical activity (PA) and psychological distress (PD) were assessed with validated questionnaires. Results: Self-rated health (SRH) and PA were inversely associated with weight, body-mass index (BMI), fat-mass percentage and blood pressure in men and with weight, BMI, fat-mass percentage and heart rate in women. Higher levels of SRH and PA were positively associated with fat-free mass percentage in both men and women. Smoking was positively associatedwith BMI and fat-mass percentage in women and with heart rate in men. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with weight and BMI in women and fat-mass percentage and heart rate in men, yet inversely associated with fat-free mass percentage only in men. PD was positively associated with weight and blood pressure in men and with BMI, fat-mass percentage and blood pressure in women. Conclusions: Our study shows that higher levels of SRH, MD and PA are related with healthy body composition parameters in young adults. Special interventions and policies that enhance PA and MD and decrease substance use and misuse (SUM) and PD should be implemented within the university school systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the test-retest reliability of the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) questionnaire in college students. Two hundred and seventy-six college students (127 men, 46%; 149 women, 54%; mean age 19.70 ± 1.32 years; mean height 1.75 ± 0.09 m; mean weight 69.28 ± 13.84 kg; mean body-mas index 22.41 ± 3.19 kg/m²) participated in the study. To investigate the reliability of the KIDMED questionnaire, the participants were asked to complete the questionnaire on two occasions two weeks apart, stratified by gender. Kappa statistics showed moderate to excellent agreement (ranging from 0.504 to 0.849) in the total sample and moderate to excellent agreement in both men (ranging from 0.467 to 0.803) and women (ranging from 0.435 to 0.927). Results in the total KIDMED score showed a moderate correlation between two occasions inthe total sample (κ = 0.597, p < 0.001) and in women (κ = 0.586, p < 0.001) and a good correlation in men (κ = 0.611, p < 0.001). Our study shows that the KIDMED questionnaire is a reliable instrument for assessing adherence to the Mediterranean diet in college students. Future studies should focus on investigating the reliability of the questionnaire in other countries and in different age groups for generating comparable data.

Objective: We analyzed the causes of deaths among the members of the 4th Guardian Brigade (GB) of the Croatian Army during the war in Croatia from 1991 to 1995: the site of the lethal injuries, the type of wounds, and estimated the severity of injuries with lethal outcome according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale., Methods: This was a retrospective study using the files and data obtained from 4th GB, Croatian Ministry of Defense, and Croatian Ministry of War Veterans., Results: During the War in Croatia from 1991 to 1995, 182 members of 4th GB were killed. One hundred fifteen (63.2%) suffered lethal injuries caused by shell fragments, 47 (25.8%) soldiers had gunshot wounds, and 20 ( 11.0%) died in traffic accidents. Mean Abbreviated Injury Scale for killed soldiers was 7.61 +/- 1.27., Conclusion: During the war in Croatia, the leading causes of death were mines and explosions, and, in a minor proportion, gunshot wounds.