EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF SUN EXPOSURE, VITAMIN D, AND CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE ON ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE OF FOOTBALLERS

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency carries significant morbidity and is involved in many biological processes including bone metabolism and immunity. The deficiency in athletes has been reported worldwide and hence it was hypothesized that exposure to sun rays may enhance the cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE) of football athletes. local football athletes of district Dir lower, (n=24) with a mean age of 18.3 ± 3.2 years were recruited and equally allocated into experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) randomly. EG was advised to train with minimal clothes in sunlight for 90 minutes daily for 120 days while CG was advised to train indoors. Pre and post-interventional vitamin D levels and cardiorespiratory endurance were measured. The EG showed a significant enhancement in Vit D concentration (17.58 ± 2.91 vs. 43.36 ± 1.92, p 0.003) which significantly improved their endurance level (9.98 ± 2.96 vs 12.15 ± 2.67, p 0.002). CG exhibited a significant decrease in Vitamin D (20.85 ± 7.22 vs 10.86 ± 6.53, p 0.036) and endurance level (11.81 ± 1.98 vs 9.43 ± 1.55, p <0.001). In addition, a strong positive correlation between Vitamin D levels and CRE for both EG (R2 = 0.96 and P <0.001) and CG (R2 =0.76 and P =0.004) was determined. The findings of this study suggest that training in sunlight significantly enhances the Vitamin D and endurance levels of athletes. In addition, this study suggests a strong correlation between Vitamin D and CRE.