An anthropometric and physical condition assessment of university students attending a food assistance program in Colombia.

Abstract

The university life implies significant changes in the food habits and physical activities. The university students usually don’t fulfill neither the recommended nutritional requirements nor the physical condition advises. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional state and physical condition in Colombian university students attending to a food assistance program. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study with undergraduate students from the University of Caldas, Colombia. Anthropometric measurements (e.g. height, weight, biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds, arm and waist circumferences) were taken. Besides, functional manual pressure tests and the Harvard step test were performed. The correlation between anthropometrical and functional variables was calculated. According to the Body mass index (BMI), 22.4% from 420 students had malnutrition. The weight excess was 3.6 times bigger tan undernourishment (17.9 compared to 4.5%). However, when the body fat was measured the situation got worse: the 46.4% of them had fat excess. The women were the most affected. The waist circumference showed a fat distribution with abdominal predominance in 14% of the population. The forearm strength and muscle mass were decreased in almost the 50% of men and 30% of women. The physical condition was inappropriate for the 38.1% of participants with a greater alteration in the men. Contradicting the assumptions, it has found out that around 50% of the public university students and beneficiaries of a food assistance program had body fat excess and an inappropriate physical condition. Efforts to improve the physical activity and food habits must be carried out. At the same time, the impact of the malnutrition in health and academic efficiency must be reduced.

Fitness Soccer Athletes Training at the University of Limpopo, South Africa: Are the Macronutrients Intake and Anthropometric Status of These Athletes Optimal?

“…The summary of energy and macronutrient recommendations for soccer athletes during training is presented in Table 1. Body size, composition, and/or body weight contribute toward an athlete's potential for success in any given sport [9,16], including soccer [18]. Bodyweight can influence an athlete's speed, endurance, and power, whereas body composition can affect an athlete's strength, agility, and appearance.…”

“…Given that BMI fails to distinguish between lean and fat mass, caution should be taken when interpreting the results of this tool for athletes [19]. Optimal dietary intake is necessary for the optimal anthropometric status to enhance the performance of soccer athletes [18]. The summary for BMI categories according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is given in Table 2.…”

Estado nutricional y función muscular en adolescentes chilenos de acuerdo con el índice de vulnerabilidad (Nutritional status and muscle function in Chilean adolescents according to the vulnerability index)

“…En la prevención de riesgos cardiometabólicos y de mortalidad en diferentes poblaciones, la masa muscular (MM) ha sido considerada como un componente significativo de salud, y un factor modificable independientemente de la edad y condición clínica. Una medida clínica factible para cuantificar la función muscular es a través de la valoración de la fuerza (FM) (Gómez-Londoño et al;2014). Desde los años 80 se ha desarrollado un método no invasivo, eficiente de utilizar, portátil, confiable y de bajo costo que evalúa la función muscular, ésta es la fuerza de agarre (FA) o también llamada fuerza prensil manual o fuerza de empuñadura (Artero et al;.…”