The influence of body composition on the motor capacities of first-year university students from Physical Education course

Abstract

Introduction: University entrance is a milestone in behavior change for young people. Changes that occur during university attendance are crucial for a healthy adult life. Worldwide high rates of obesity and low levels of physical activity are worrying, and they are related to motor coordination, which is a predictor of sustained motor practice. Objective: To analyze the influence of body composition on the motor skills of incoming university students. Methods: 137 university students of the program in Physical Education (21.8±3.6 years) took part in the study. Body composition (body mass index, percentage of fat, waist/hip ratio), motor coordination without/with ball (KTK and TECOBOL-short tests), and physical fitness tests (PROESP-br) were analyzed through descriptive statistics, t-student test and Pearson correlation. The statistical significance was p≤0.05. Results: Comparisons between sexes revealed differences in the physical and motor tests, with the exception of the sit-and-reach tests and the balance beam. There was correlation between body composition and both physical and motor tests. Moreover, the percentage of fat was correlated with cardiorespiratory fitness tests (r=-0.769; p≤0.001), lower limb strength (r=-0.710; p≤0.001), upper limb strength (r=-0.604; p≤0.001), velocity (r=0.672; p≤0.001), and dribble of TECOBOL (r=0.502; p≤0.001). Conclusion: Motor skills are related to body composition indicators in young university students who engaged in Physical Education program.