IntroductionDespite the progress in the management of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, it is necessary to continue exploring and explaining how this situation affected the athlete population around the world to improve their circumstances and reduce the negative impact of changes in their lifestyle conditions that were necessitated due to the pandemic. The aim of this study was to analyze the moderating influence of physical activity (PA) and dietary habits on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experience on sleep quality in elite and amateur athletes.Materials and methodsA total of 1,420 elite (40.1%) and amateur (59.9%) athletes (41% women; 59% men) from 14 different countries participated in a cross-sectional design study. Data were collected using a battery of questionnaires that identified sociodemographic data, sleep quality index, PA levels, dietary habits, and the athletes' perception of their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each variable. The analysis of variances and the correlation between variables were carried out with non-parametric statistics. A simple moderation effect was calculated to analyze the interaction between PA or dietary habits on the perception of the COVID-19 experience effect on sleep quality in elite and amateur athletes.ResultsThe PA level of elite athletes was higher than amateur athletes during COVID-19 (p < 0.001). However, the PA level of both categories of athletes was lower during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 (p < 0.01). In addition, amateurs had a higher diet quality than elite athletes during the pandemic (p = 0.014). The perception of the COVID-19 experience as controllable was significantly higher (p = 0.020) among elite athletes. In addition, two moderating effects had significant interactions. For amateur athletes, the PA level moderated the effect of controllable COVID-19 experience on sleep quality [F(3,777) = 3.05; p = 0.028], while for elite athletes, the same effect was moderated by dietary habits [F(3,506) = 4.47, p = 0.004].ConclusionElite athletes had different lifestyle behaviors compared to amateurs during the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, the relevance of maintaining high levels of PA for amateurs and good quality dietary habits by elite athletes was noted by the moderating effect that both variables had on the influence of the controllable experience during the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality.

Inactive lifestyle and its degrading consequences such as increased body fat mass, muscle atrophy and physical functioning problems are among factors affecting the motorcontrol in adulthood. Therefore, the aim of study was to investigate the effect of Pilates exercise on motor control indexes of inactive middle-aged women.Method: This was a semi experimental study with pretest and post test design performed on 43 inactive females with mean age of 44.4±5.1 yearswith low activity, body percent fat above 35%, WHR> 0.95. They were assigned into two experimental (n=22) and control (n=21) groups. The pilates group did their exercise for 4 months, three weeks a week while the control group did their daily routines. Allbody composition variables were measured by body composition analyzer and functional tests were measured by speed and balance tests. Independent and dependent t-test was used to analyze the data. Results: The results suggested that dynamic balance and walking speed were improved significantly and those effective factors on motor control such as obesity variables,including body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), percent body fat (PBF), visceral fat (VF) (respectively, p=0.003; p=0.001; p=0.004) were also improved. Walking speed and balance were the other parameters affecting the motor control of aged women (respectively, p=0.001; p=003). Conclusion: It seems that pillates exercise may improve walking speed, balance and also lead to a better bodycomposition. Therefore, having such an exercise program can be effective in motor controland its major consequences for gait and postural control of elderly people.

Objectives This research aimed to investigate the impact of Pilates exercise on motor performance indexes and low back pain of inactive middle-aged women. Methods & Materials This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design performed on 43 inactive females with mean (SD) age of 44.4 (5.1) year with low activity, body fat percentage above 35%, and Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) of over 0.95. They were assigned into test (n=22) and control (n=21) group. The Pilates or test group did their exercise for 4 months, three times a week while the control group did their daily routines. All body composition variables were measured by body composition analyzer and functional tests were measured by speed and balance tests. Independent and dependent t test were used to analyze the data. Results The results suggested that dynamic balance and speed improved significantly and those effective factors on motor control such as obesity variables, including Body Mass Index (BMI), WHR, body fat percentage, visceral fat were also improved (P≤0.05). Conclusion It seems that Pilates exercise may improve motor performance indexes and also a better quality of life due to a mitigating low back pain. Therefore, practicing such an exercise program can be effective in older persons.Extended Abstract S this regard, low back pain is more common in people with inactive lifestyle [2], increased body mass index, especially in the abdominal region, and muscle weakness in central areas. With the increase in abdominal obesity, the compensatory curve is created in the lumbar curvature which increases pressure on the intervertebral discs [2]. Due to the increase in the curves of the lumbar region, the center of gravity moves forward and causes changes in how to walk, disturbance in postural control and increased risk of falling, and finally reduction in motor function [3], including a reduction Citation: Seghatoleslami A, Hemmati Afif A, Irandoust Kh, Taheri M. [Effect of Pilates Exercises on Motor Performance and Low Back Pain in Elderly Women With Abdominal Obesity (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2018; 13(3):396-405. https://doi.

No abstract

No abstract