Association between body composition and the physical condition in sixth grade students belonging to the modern educational institution of Tuluá, Colombia year 2019

Abstract

Abstract. The following study aimed at determining the correlation between body composition and physical condition in sixth grade students from the high school Institución Educativa Moderna in Tuluá, Colombia. It was carried as a non-experimental, descriptive, and correlational study. The assessment of body composition was carried out using the body mass index and the fat percentage based on Slaughter and Lohmann formula. Physical condition was determined by using the Fitnessgram battery. The sample consisted of 193 boys and girls, around eight and 12 years old. The results were determined by means of descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation. These results showed r = -0.52 and -0.72 for boys and girls respectively, after correlating the percentage of fat and cardiovascular capacity. The correlation of their body mass index and their body weight, towards the percentage of fat were: r = 0.59 girl, 0.76 boy and r = 0.46 girl and 0.67 boy respectively, indicating that, the higher the body mass the higher the increase of fat. The correlation between fat mass and the fixed bar test was inverse, but not high: r = -0.23 and -0.24. However, when this test was correlated with the body mass index, that correlation was higher: r = -0.57 and -0.78, reflecting that the body mass affected the resistance at the bar. Flexibility and agility were not altered by fat mass: r <0.20. In conclusion, it is evidenced that fat mass can decrease cardiovascular capacity and resistance to strength, however, flexibility and speed-agility may not be altered.