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BODY FATNESS AND HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS: WHEN BIGGER IS NOT BETTER

P A Adeleke, A V Ogunleye

Abstract


This paper reviewed the effects of body fatness on health-related physical fitness. Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of body composition is the ratio of body weight in kilogramme to the square of height in meter; it is an index used to classify people as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. Health-related physical fitness is an aspect of physical fitness required for healthy life. It consists of cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and body composition. Literature revealed that significant negative relationship exists between Body Mass Index (BMI) and health-related fitness. However, the effects of overweight/obesity on health-related physical fitness vary with the component of fitness being examined. While, body mass index correlates negatively with cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance of athletes, Studies showed no significant difference in the performances of overweight/obese and normal weight in flexibility and muscular strength tests. The observed lack of difference is attributed to intense training of athletes irrespective of weight status. However, the reverse is the case in sedentary population. In addition, reviewed literature showed that overweight/obese have greater risk for chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, stroke and cancer of different kinds than normal weight. Most of the reviewed works affirmed that bigger body is not an asset; it is rather a source of bigger health issues, such as bigger blood pressure, bigger blood sugar, bigger serum cholesterol, bigger heart rate, bigger pain and bigger stress. It is therefore recommended that everyone must lead an active life in addition to a well balanced nutrition, in order to prevent the accumulation of unnecessary extra burden of fat which offers little or no significant benefits to man.

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