ORIGINAL ARTICLE
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abstractBody
mass index of masters basketball players 1Joe Walsh, 2Mike
Climstein, 3Ian Timothy Heazlewood, 4Mark
DeBeliso, 5Kent Adams, 1Stephen
Burke, 6Jyrki Kettunen 1School
of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia 2Bond
University, Faculty of Health Science and Medicine, Queensland,
Australia 3School of Environmental
and Life Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles
DarwinUniversity, Australia 4Department
of Physical Education and Human Performance, Southern Utah University,
Utah, USA 5California State
University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, USA 6Arcada University
of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland
Abstract
Introduction:
Thousands of masters athletes participate quadrennially in the World
Masters Games (WMG). However, this unique cohort remains
under investigated. With a need for multifaceted solutions to
the global obesity epidemic, investigating special populations such as
those competing in sport at mature-older ages may further the
understanding of the nexus between aging, physical activity and
obesity. The aim of this cross-sectional comparative study
was to investigate body mass index (BMI) within the WMG competitors in
context with national populations and health guidelines. We
hypothesized that the prevalence of obesity in the WMG cohort would be
less than comparative national populations and males would demonstrate
a higher level of obesity than females. Methods:
A total of 408 (44.1% male, 55.9% female) WMG basketball players aged
29-77yrs (mean 52.2, SD ± 8.0) were investigated via an
online survey and compared to national populations, primarily a
representative sample (n=12,366, 47.5% male, 52.5% female) of the
Australian population (aged 30-79yrs). Results:
Analysis demonstrated a significantly (p<0.001) reduced
classification of obesity in masters basketball players, compared to
Australian and other national populations. As expected, male
basketball players had , on average, higher BMI than females
(p<0.001). Conclusions: This study
indicated that one key index of health, namely obesity, was on average
far lower in WMG basketball players compared to a representative sample
of population controls. This finding may indicate a lower risk for many
diseases such as type 2 diabetes or heart diseases in masters
basketball players and the selection of a sport that induces positive
health related fitness for both male and female masters athletes.
Key
words:Quetelet
Index, sports, exercise Full
article: Body
mass index of masters basketball players
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