Women Athletes Turned Sedentary are No Different to Sedentary Women; An Age-Matched Cross-Sectional Study on Health Parameters of Women

Abstract

Background: Women in their mid-life suffer drastic physical, physiological, and social changes. Most women tend to bypass their regular physical activity; this includes women athletes who were active as athletes previously but were later pushed into a sedentary lifestyle due to various circumstances. The study aimed to compare the health parameters between age-matched women AthletesTurned Sedentary (ATS) and sedentary women.

Material and Method: In the cross-sectional comparison, 137 women aged 35-50 from the Delhi-NCR region were recruited in 2 groups. Sixty-three subjects fulfilling the inclusion criteria with purposive sampling were induced in the ATS group, whereas 74 women were in the sedentary group. The volunteers were tested for BMI, fat percentage (4-site), and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic). Pulmonary function assessment included; Peak flow, vital capacity and breath-holding capacity.Pearson correlation analysis assessed the relationship between BMI, Fat%, BP, and Pulmonary Functions. Independent t-tests with the Mann-Whitney U testwere performed on body composition, respiratory parameters, and blood pressure to determine the difference between the groups.

Result:Findings revealed that BMI was negatively correlated with vital capacity (r = -0.355, p=0.041). There was no significant difference in variances between the ATS and sedentary groups. However, the variance between the groups (ATS vs sedentary) differed significantly for suprailiac skinfold thickness (F = 2.986, p = 0.086), biceps skinfold thickness (F = 4.842, p = 0.029), and triceps skinfold thickness (F = 9.962, p = 0.002). T-tests showed significant differences in suprailiac skinfold thickness (t = -2.297, df = 134, p = 0.023). Based on the result, it was concluded that women athletes who turned sedentary were different from sedentary women. Even athletes must continue regular physical activity or are equally vulnerable to diseases.Further, they also need to participate in moderate physical activity to reduce their fat percentage and BMI to prevent cardiovascular and pulmonary-related diseases.