American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine

Obesity, defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health, is on the rise including in the pediatric population in developed as well as less developed countries. As children are now fast adopting computer based activity both habitual and recreational with minimal level of physical effort, the prevalence of childhood obesity is a major concern. Indian dancing has been practised as a popular recreational activity for a long period of time. Bharatnatyam dancing is a traditional form of Indian classical dance which involves different body postures with continuous rhythmic body movements and therefore it may have some impact on body composition. A study has been undertaken in this backdrop, to assess the effect of Indian classical. Bharatanatyam dancing on body composition variables of girl children. Female individuals (12-18 year), receiving Bharatanatyam dancing training for at least a period of five years and practicing daily for an hour for 6 days in a week, constituted the Bharatanatyam dancing group (DG). Children of similar age and socioeconomic background with no regular physical activity including any form of dancing were randomly selected for constituting control group. It has been observed that training in Bharatnatyam dancing has significant (P < 0.05) favourable impact on the body composition parameters measured anthropometrically compared to the age and sex matched counterparts. It could therefore be concluded that Bharatnatyam dancing has specific beneficial impact on maintaining favourable body composition variables in children and thereby reducing the chance of obesity in adulthood.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 56-59. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-10
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Effects of Daily Life Physical Activity on Obesity Indices, Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Association of the Latter Two with Academic Performance in Bengali Adolescents of India

by Roan Mukherjee and Prakash C. Dhara

Special Issue

This study examined the influence of daily life Physical Activity (PA ) on obesity parameters (BMI: Body Mass Index, WHR: Waist Hip Ratio, Body fat percentage) and cardiorespiratory fitness or CRF (PFI: Physical Fitness Index). The influence of the later two on academic performance was also documented. The study was conducted on 720 healthy Bengali adolescents involving 240 subjects from each of the three age groups ( Age group I: 13-14 yrs, Age group II:15-16 yrs, Age group III:17-18 yrs). Subjects of both the genders were chosen from urban and rural areas by random sampling method. Physical activity questionnaire for adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to classify adolescents into low, moderate and high PA levels. Obesity parameters and PFI was measured using standard techniques. Percentage (%) of the mean of the three years total marks of annual school examination was computed to get the academic score (%) of the participant. In most of the instances, obesity parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) varied among different PA levels. PFI also showed similar trend of results.It was seen that rural urban impact on obesity parameters may not always be necessarily present whereas in case of PFI it was consistently significant. Obesity parameters was found to have significant negative correlation (p < 0.001) with PA and academic performance. PFI possessed significant (p < 0.001) positive correlation with PA and academic performance.However, multiple regression analysis found that only body fat percentage independently and significantly predicted academic performance in both the genders. The present data highlighted the importance of practicing sufficient PA in daily life not only to keep check against increased body fat levels and prevent obesity but also to increase CRF. Additively, it indicated that higher levels of body fat and lower levels of CRF may possibly restrict performance in examination. PA induced lowering of body fat and improvements in CRF may be expected to bring about some positive changes in academic performance.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 48-55. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-9
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Impact of a Strength Training Exercise Program on Body Composition and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Group of Obese Schoolchildren by Pubertal Stage

by Fabian Vasquez, Erik Diaz, Lydia Lera, Loretta Vasquez, Alyerina Anziani and Raquel Burrows

Special Issue

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a strength training exercise intervention on body composition and cardiovascular risk factors in obese children, by pubertal stage. The sample included 60 obese schoolchildren of both genders, aged 8 to 13 years, recruited from a school in the city of Santiago (Chile). The intervention included physical exercise (strength training 3 times per week), during 3 months. Multi-compartmental body composition was estimated using isotopic dilution, plethysmography, radiographic absorptiometry and 4C model as the gold standard. Presence of metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to Cook criteria and cardiovascular risk factors were determined using anthropometric and biochemical indicators. We found differences in schoolchildren in pubertal stages III & IV. Compared to girls, boys showed significant reductions in body fat in kg and percentage (4-Component model) and isotopic dilution in kg (p < 0,05). Likewise, we observed an increase in the fat-free mass in kg, in the 4-Component Model (p < 0,01). In all groups, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome decreased from baseline to 3 months, but the reduction was significant only among boys of Tanner I & II (p = 0.03). Only this group showed a significant reduction in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors from baseline to 3 months (p = 0.02). This study provides evidence on the positive impact of a strength training physical exercise program on reductions of body fat, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular risk factors, supporting the use of exercise as a treatment for obesity and its comorbidities in schoolchildren.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 40-47. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-8
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Prevalence of Obesity among Immigrants Living in Canada

by Anup Adhikari

Special Issue

Canadian who were living in Toronto for the past fifteen years after migrating from their own countries and maintaining their own traditional food habits, were studied for their adiposity and body composition. Body composition was analyzed by bio-impedance method using bioelectrical body composition analyzer and BMI was calculated by standard method. Average age, height, weight, fat % and BMI for the males were 34.2 yr (± 12.3), 175.8 cm (± 8.2), 85.5 kg (± 17.5), 23.6 % (± 7.4) and 27.6 kg.m² (± 5.2) respectively whereas those for their female counterparts were 30.9 yr (± 11.3), 163.7 cm (± 6.5), 71.1 kg (± 17.1), 31.8 % (± 8.2) and 26.5 kg.m^-2 (± 5.9) respectively. A wide range of Fat % were observed in both male and female Canadians which were 7.3% - 50.0% for male and 8.5 %-52.6% for female. Similar wide ranges were also observed in BMI where males had a range of 14.6 kg.m^-2 - 48.5 kg.m^-2 and female had 15.2 kg.m^-2 and 50.2 kg.m^-2. In males, 66.12 % were in overweight category, out of which 38.74% were in pre-obese and 27.38% were in obese group. Similarly, in females, 52.72% were in overweight category, out of which 30.96% were in pre-obese category and 21.75% were in obese category. High adiposity was also observed both in males and females. The reason might be due to their life style and food habit.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 35-39. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-7
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Overweight and Physical Activity as a Measure of Age at Menarche in Females

by Ajita and Jiwanjot

Special Issue

The present study is conducted on 62 girls, out of which 31 girls belong to physically active group with a training age of 8.95 years and 31 girls are from physically inactive group considered as control group. The girls were evaluated for their decimal age, age at menarche, height, weight body fat percentage and BMI. The body mass index and body fat percentages were significantly correlated and an inverse correlation was found. The higher body mass index, the lower was the age at menarche. The physically inactive girls were overweight and also early mature. The age of menarche of physically active girls was significantly delayed as compared to their inactive counterparts.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 32-34. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-6
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Physical Activity: A Key for the Preclusion of Obesity in Children

by Pradeep Singh Chahar

Special Issue

Childhood obesity is the one of the serious problem globally which keeps on increasing with high rate. Physical activity plays an important role in handling the childhood obesity. Physical activity has long been considered an integral component of weight management, but exercise alone is a reasonably ineffective means for reducing fat percentage. Physical activity along with healthy nutrition boosts the process of fat percentage discount and also helpful in monitoring the hypothalamus part of brain which plays an important role in regulating the food intake. Data suggested that anthropometry is a key component of nutritional status assessment in children especially body mass index, which is quite effective and reliable. Without engaging the children’s in physical activity leads to increased chances of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes in future and that fastenings the attention of fitness personal and policy makers. Hence, parents and policymakers have to plan accordingly to make their child healthy and fit. This article reviews the available literature regarding the role of physical activity and nutrition in the prevention and handling of childhood obesity along with various anthropometric assessment methods.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 27-31. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-5
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Peak Expiratory Flow Rate – A Consistent Marker of Respiratory Illness Associated with Childhood Obesity

by Basuli Goswami, Anindita Singha Roy, Rishna Dalui and Amit Bandyopadhyay

Special Issue

Childhood obesity is a prevalent global health problem that leads to onset of serious health problems. One of such major health problems is respitarory disorders induced by obesity especially in childhood. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is a convenient tool for quantitative and qualitative estimation of pulmonary function, which can easily be measured by peak flow meter. Present review has been focused to find out the applicability of PEFR as a marker of childhood obesity induced respiratory complications. Several studies revealed that obesity has strong association with PEFR that was significantly lower in individuals with obesity. Such association was attributed to the increased airway resistance and respiratory muscle dysfunction as a result of excess fat deposition. BMI, a good predictor of obesity also exhibited significant correlated with spirometric variables, e.g., FEV₁, FVC, PEFR, etc. Waist to hip ratio has also been found to be an alternative of BMI for prediction of PEFR. Researchers hypothesised that fat accumulation over the chest wall reduces the PEFR mostly among all the pulmonary function indices and negative correlation was observed between pulmonary function parameters and visceral adiposity that in turn establishes that visceral fat deposition negatively affects the pulmonary activities and affects airway hyper responsiveness (AHR) in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. Evidences further suggest that obesity causes asthma in children. It may further be hypothesized that PEFR is a good marker to diagnose the pulmonary disorders originated as a result of obesity that in turn may be evaluated from BMI or waist to hip ratio.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 21-26. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-4
Pub. Date: February 19, 2014

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Frequency Analyses of Postural Sway during Prolonged Sitting on a Large Gymnastics Ball and Stool

by Borut Kirn and Vito Starc

Original Research

Selected schools in Slovenia have launched an initiative to replace school chairs with large gymnastics balls (LGBs) in order to improve children’s posture. The rational given was that LGB saffect posture in a way that is beneficial to the body because they mimic the frequencies of body movement during walking. To identify the influence of seating furniture on the frequency of postural sway, the postural dynamics of eight school children were studied. A comparison was made of their posture while they were sitting on a stool and on a LGB, each for 30 minutes. The lumbar lordosis (LL) and pelvicinclination (PI) angles were both studied. They were measured from the sagittal plane with a video measurement system (3 fps). From the time pattern of each angle, calculations were made to determine the frequency spectrum median and distribution of power in frequency spectra at four intervals: 1) 0.01–0.05 s⁻¹, 2) 0.05–0.1 s⁻¹, 3) 0.1–0.33 s⁻¹, and 4) 0.33–0.6 s⁻¹. It was determined that the median for LL is at a higher frequency on a LGB (LGB = 0.17 s⁻¹ 0.03 s⁻¹, stool = 0.14 s⁻¹ 0.03 s⁻¹, p < 0.05), but no differences were found in PI. Sitting on a LGB had more power in the third interval with a typical sway period of 5 s (p < 0.05), whereas sitting on as tool had more power in the first interval with a typical sway period of 33 s (p < 0.05). Sitting on a LGB influences the upper body dynamics and promotes a sitting posture with a period of sway that is closer to the sway pattern experienced during walking as compared to sitting on a stool.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 17-20. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-3
Pub. Date: February 17, 2014

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Effect of Anthropometric Characteristics and Socio-Economic Status on Vertical Jumping Performances in Tunisian Athletic Children

by C Aouichaoui, Y Trabelsi, Z Tabka, M Dogui, JP Richalet and E Bouhlel

Original Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of socioeconomic factors on vertical jumping performance as well as on anthropometric parameters in athletic Tunisian children aged 7 to 13 in both sexes.Four hundred and seven athletic Tunisian children (218 boys and 189 girls) ranging from 7 to 13 were randomly selected to participate in our study. They were asked to perform Squat jumps (SJ) and Countermovement jumps (CMJ) and to response to a questionnaire. Jump heights and leg power were simultaneously provided by the optojump device. Correlations and regression models were calculated in order to identify which factors influenced jumping performance variables. In our population of athletic Tunisian children, the socioeconomic status did not influence vertical jumping parameters whereas morphological factors were the main predictive factors of jumping. This research may help verifying the effectiveness of a specific training program and detecting highly talented athletes.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 6-16. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-2
Pub. Date: January 23, 2014

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Assessing Various Body Composition Measurements as An Appropriate Tool for Estimating Body Fat in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Female Collegiate Athletes

by Andrew Shim, Patrick Cross, Shannon Norman and Patrick Hauer

Original Research

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if various convenient and cost affordable body composition techniques correlate well with more expensive “gold standard” instruments for measuring body composition in female collegiate athletes. Methods: Thirty-two Division I track and field and basketball female athletes participated in the study. The host university’s Institutional Review Board approved the protocols towards ethical treatment of all subjects before the study commenced. Within one hour, each subject underwent body composition assessments via air displacement plethysmography (ADP), skinfold (SF) measurements, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Results: No significant differences were found between basketball and track athletes thus data was normalized. No significant difference in calculated percent body fat was noted between ADP and SF (p = .002), but there was a significant difference between ADP and BIA (p = .478). Per Pearson correlations, moderate correlations existed between body fat percentages obtained by ADP and SF (r = .689) as well as between body fat percentages estimated by ADP and BIA (r = .447). Conclusions: Results indicate the SF technique had the highest correlation when compared to the BOD POD^®. Skinfold measurements obtained with the Harpenden Skinfold Calipers may be used as a quick, affordable, and reliable technique for measuring body fat percentages in female collegiate athletes when performed by an experienced skinfold assessor.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014, 2(1), 1-5. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-2-1-1
Pub. Date: January 10, 2014

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