Anthropometric Obesity Indices, Body Fat Percentage, and Grip Strength in Young Adults with different Physical Activity Levels.

Söğüt Söğüt,Doğan Doğan,Kaya Kaya,Clark Clark,Clemente Clemente,Altunsoy Altunsoy

doi:10.3390/jfmk4030051

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine whether moderately physically active (MPA) and highly physically active (HPA) male (n = 96, age = 22.5 ± 1.7 years) and female (n = 85, age = 21.3 ± 1.6 years) young adults differed in their anthropometric obesity indices (AOIs), body fat percentage (BF%), and muscular strength, and also to examine the associations between physical activity level (PAL) and the abovementioned variables. Participants were measured for body height and weight, BF%, waist and hip circumferences, and maximal isometric grip strength. According to their PAL, estimated by the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, they were assigned to MPA and HPA subgroups. Regardless of gender, results indicated that participants in the MPA groups had significantly higher values of body weight, waist and hip circumference, BF%, and BMI than participants in the HPA groups. No significant differences were found between physical activity groups in terms of grip strength. The AOIs and BF% were found to be significantly and negatively correlated with the PAL in both genders. In conclusion, the findings of the study suggest that high habitual physical activity is associated with lower adiposity markers. However, the differences in the hand grip strength of the contrasting activity groups were negligible.

Highlights

The consequences of physical inactivity, including a diverse range of chronic and non-communicable diseases is well-documented, such as coronary heart disease [1], breast and colon cancers [2,3], osteoporosis [4], noninsulin-dependent diabetes [5], excess adiposity [6], depression [7], and all-cause mortality [8]
Results highlighted that participants in the highly physically active (HPA) groups had significantly lower values in BF%, body mass, waist and hip circumference, and body mass index (BMI) than the participants in the moderately physically active (MPA) groups in both genders
There were no significant differences in age, body height, and grip strength results between groups

Summary

Introduction

The consequences of physical inactivity, including a diverse range of chronic and non-communicable diseases is well-documented, such as coronary heart disease [1], breast and colon cancers [2,3], osteoporosis [4], noninsulin-dependent diabetes [5], excess adiposity [6], depression [7], and all-cause mortality [8]. The findings of large, recent cohort studies have indicated that physical activity level (PAL) is inversely associated with body fat percentage (BF%), body mass index (BMI), and/or other adiposity indicators [13,14,15,16]. Low hand grip strength is associated with increased risk of functional limitations and disability in one’s later years, as well as a general cause of mortality [25]. In spite of such evidence, there is a lack of studies testing the relationship between PALs and strength, and this should be considered to understand the mechanism that explains good maintenance of strength

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion