184 IMPACT OF SELECTED MINOR GAMES ON PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBESITY; AMONG SCHOOL STUDENTS INTRODUCTION PRADEEP.C.S*; AJEESH.P.T**; ARUN.C.NAIR*** *Lecturer in Physical Education, G.V.Raja Sports VHSS, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. **Research Scholar, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. ***Research Scholar, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the selected minor games programme on physiological factors among school children. The intervention was designed as a sample consisted of 230 participants, the program lasted eight weeks. The study examined the reduction of physiological factors; BMI, BMI percentile, percent body fat, waist circumference, and heart rate. The World Health Organization defines obesity as a condition or a disease in which an individual has excess body fat to an extent that it may negatively impact health (WHO, 2000). For example, obesity is associated with detrimental conditions that can affect cardiovascular health with conditions like hypertension (Freeman, Dietz, Srinivasan, & Berenson, 1999), the endocrine system that may cause type 2 diabetes (Pinhas-Hamile et al., 1996), and pulmonary conditions like asthma, and sleep apnea (Rodriguez, Winkley, Ahn, Sundquist & Kraemer, 2002; AAP, 2001), among other comorbidities. The eight-week intervention promotes healthier lifestyles for obese students in kerala diagnosed as overweight (85 percentile < BMI> 95 percentile) or obese (BMI > 95 percentile by reducing physiological factors. The physiological factors of obesity being assessed include BMI, BMI percentile, percent body fat, waist circumference, and heart rate among obese students in kerala. The study also explored whether physical activity levels (daily exercise and weekly exercise) reported at baseline, were associated with changes on physiological factors. METHODOLOGY ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAMME The programme was implemented for a period of eight weeks excluding the period utilized for initial and final tests of the selected criterion variables.
185 The prescribed programe schedule was applied to the experimental group by the research scholar with the help of other physical education teachers who strictly followed the instructions of the research scholar. Subsequently the control group spent their time doing their daily routine. The experimental group subjects performed in the minor game programme after school session. The programme was implemented on the experimental group after every school session for a period of one hour for 5 days per week. BMI was calculated based on the height and weight; weight (kg) / [height (m)2]. BMI is an inexpensive and convenient measurement used to determine weight categories. In addition, the BMI percentile is commonly used to assess the size and growth patterns in children and adolescents 10 to 17 years old. BMI percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI index among children of the same sex and age. BMI is an estimate of weight, so it does not measure body fat directly as does skin fold thickness, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, and underwater weighing. Percent body fat is a more accurate measurement of obesity compared to BMI. Percent body fat is commonly determined through skinfold thickness, underwater weighting and a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Studies utilize the dual energy X-ray absorptionmetry (DXA) because it provides more specific percent body fat data including total fat mass, bone-free lean tissue mass, and bone mineral content (Taylor, Jones, Williams, & Goulding, 2002). Percent body fat is proven to be an effective measurement to determine childhood obesity. Therefore, percent body fat was measured through a dual energy X-ray absorptionmetry in the study to assess the relative position of obesity among children of the same sex and age. Waist circumference is a recommended measurement to classify obesity status specifically for abdominal obesity. Waist circumference was measured by locating the upper hipbone and the top of the iliac crest, then a measuring tape was placed horizontally around the abdomen at the iliac crest level and measurement was taken at the end of a normal exhalation (Ford, Mokdad, & Ajani, 2004). In addition, waist circumference is known to be associated detrimental health conditions including cardiovascular risks. Consequently, this was another important physiological factor of obesity utilized in the study. Heart rate was an additional physiological factor measure in the study. Heart rate variability is known to be associated with overweight and obesity. Heart rate is the number of heartbeat per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute (bpm). This measurement also varies as the body's need for oxygen changes, such as during physical activity or sleep (AHA, 2010). As a result, heart rate was an essential physiological factor examined in the study. DATA ANALYSIS Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0. Means and standard deviations were calculated for all physiological factors; BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure, and heart rate significantly decreased over the course of the eight-week minor game program, repeated measures ANOVAs were calculated from initial visits across the eight weeks. Additional ANOVAs were conducted to assess whether BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure, and heart rate changed within the 8-week intervention.
186 RESULTS SAMPLE The sample consisted of 230 School student diagnosed as obese ranging from 10 to 17 years old with a mean age of 13.38 years. A total of 126 (54.78%) of the participants were female, 104 (45.22%). At baseline, mean BMI 28.61 (SD = 5.58), mean BMI percentile was 97.43 (SD = 2.361), mean percent body fat was 36.37 (SD = 10.83), mean waist circumference was 37.79 inches (SD = 6.14), and mean heart rate was 88.29 (SD = 13.79) in Table 1 and Table 2. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS: TABLE 1 Demographic Variable Baseline N 230 Mean age 13.38 Gender Female 126 (54.78%) Male 104 (45.22%) PRE TEST PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES: TABLE 2 Physiological Variable Mean Standard Deviation BMI 28.61 5.58 BMI percentile 97.43 2.31 Percent Body Fat 36.37 10.83 Waist Circumference 37.79 6.14 Heart Rate 88.29 13.79 BMI / BMI PERCENTILE During the intervention, baseline to eight weeks, the results revealed that BMI decreased significantly from a mean BMI of 28.61 kg/m2 to a mean of 26.98 kg/m2 at eight weeks. The
187 results also indicated a significant decrease on BMI percentile from 97.43 at baseline to 96.24 at eight weeks. PERCENT BODY FAT During the intervention, baseline to eight weeks, repeated measures ANOVAs did not show significant results for percent body fat but the mean percent body fat at baseline decreased from 36.37 to a mean percent body fat of 33.17 at eight weeks. WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE During the intervention, baseline to eight weeks, the results revealed that waist circumference decreased significantly the mean waist circumference decreased from 37.79 inches at baseline to a mean waist circumference of 36.65 inches at eight weeks. HEART RATE During the intervention, baseline to eight weeks, the results revealed significant decrease for heart rate. However, the mean heart rate did not decreased from 88.29 bpm at baseline to mean 87.35 bpm at eight weeks. POST TEST PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLE: TABLE 3 Physiological Variable Mean Standard Deviation BMI 26.98 5.21 BMI percentile 96.24 3.41 Percent Body Fat 33.17 10.37 Waist Circumference 36.65 5.69 Heart Rate 87.35 17.42 DISCUSSION The study examined that minor game programme is effectiveness for the reduction of physiological factors, BMI, BMI percentile; percent body fat, waist circumference, and heart rate. In addition, the study explored whether baseline physical activity levels and sedentary lifestyles were associated with changes in obesity status.
188 The results for percent body fat were somewhat unexpected. Participants did not lose a significant percentage of body fat during the 8-week intervention. Consequently, if BMI and BMI percentiles were significant, the expectation was to also capture significant results for percent body fat during the 8-week intervention. Waist circumference, an indicator of abdominal adiposity, significantly decreased for participants by the end of the program, and this decrease was maintained at six-month and oneyear follow-ups. These results demonstrate that the Wellness Center's intervention was not only effective in reducing overall adiposity measured by BMI, BMI percentile and percent body fat but also waist circumference. Moreover, waist circumference is a physiological factor associated with cardiovascular disease risks (Higgins et al., 2001; Sawa et al. 2000). Therefore, it was also essential to examine and interpret the results for heart rate and explore potential associations with waist circumference. Studies demonstrate the association between obesity and heart rate variability (Sorof et al., 2002; Martini et al., 2001). Therefore, it was important to assess the physiological factor of heart rate through the weight management intervention. During the eight-week intervention the results revealed significant reduction in heart rate. CONCLUSION This study also showed that minor game programme resulted in reducing overweight and obesity rates in kerala school children. This study is the first to examine the effects of minor game on overweight and obesity rates in kerala school children. REFERENCES Higgins, P., Gower, B., Hunter, G., & Goran, M. (2001). Defining health-related obesity in prepubertal children. Obesity Research, 9(4), 233. Sawa, S., Tornaritis, M., Sawa, M., Kourides, Y., Panagi, A., Silikiotou, N., Georgiou, C, Kafatos, A. (2000). Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio are better predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children than body mass index. International Journal of Obesity, 24, 1453-1458. Sorof, J., Poffenbarger, T., Franco, K., Bernard, L., & Portman, R. (2002). Isolated systolic hypertension, obesity, and hyperkinetic hemodynamic states in childrea Journal of Pediatrics, 140(6), 660. World Health Organization (2000). Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic report of a WHO consultation. WHO Technical Report Series, No. 894, Geneva: WHO.