Anthropometry and Physical Features of Bangladeshi Women National Level Kho-Kho and Football Players: A Frank Comparison

Abstract

Introduction: In Bangladesh Football is the most popular ball game but Kho-Kho is not that popular like Football. Kho-Kho is a popular Game in India but day by day it is becoming popular in Bangladesh. Major muscle groups are used in these two games because both games involve running, driving, jumping, swinging, and hand motions. Methods: Forty national-level women Football players and forty national-level women Kho-Kho players were studied in the present study.  The average age is between 14 to 21 years and the training age is between 2 to 6 years. All the anthropometric measurements and body mass were carried out with proper guidelines. Results: The average leg length for Female Kho-Kho players is 89.14 ( ±4.44 cm)  and that of Female Football players is 86.92 ( ±8.91) cm. The average leg length of women Kho-Kho players is 2.22 cm higher than the average leg length of women Football players which is statistically significant. There is also a significant difference (p ≤0.05) when average BMI is compared. The average fat percentage of Women Footballers is slightly higher than the average Fat % of women Kho-Kho players where the average fat percentage of women football players is 22.09 % ±4.05 and that of Kho-Kho players is 22.01 ±4.01. Conclusion: The Bangladeshi national-level women Kho-Kho players have better physiques than the national women Football players whereas the body composition of both groups is very close.