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Biomedical subjects

A L Toriola

Publications and source records attributed to A L Toriola.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Body composition and physical fitness of undernourished South African rural primary school children.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between the body composition characteristics, body mass index (BMI), sum of skinfolds (SSF), % body fat (%BF), fat-free mass (FFM) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and nine physical fitness items in undernourished rural primary school children in Ellisras, South Africa. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study consisted of 462 boys and 393 girls who were aged 7-14 y. MEASUREMENTS: Five body composition measures were assessed: BMI, SSF, %BF, FFM and WHR. Nine physical fitness test items were assessed: standing long jump, bent arm hang, sit-ups, 10 x 5 m shuttle run, 50 m sprint, 1600 m run, flamingo balance, sit and reach, plate tapping. RESULTS: BMI was highly correlated with FFM (r = 0.7, P < 0.001). In line with findings from Western countries, regression coefficients (B) showed that children with higher BMI or SSF performed worse in bent arm hang (girls, B = -0.84, P < 0.001, and B = -0.06, P = 0.02, respectively) and in 1600m run (B = 6.68, P < 0.001). BMI was significantly associated with flamingo balance (B = 0.26, P = 0.04). WHR was positively associated with bent arm hang (B = 9.37, P = 0.03), and inversely with sit and reach (B = -7.48, P = 0.01). In contrast, significant relationships were found between BMI and standing long jump (B = 0.74, P = 0.04), sit and reach (B = 0.51, P < 0.001), flamingo balance (B = 0.26, P = 0.04) and plate tapping (B = -19, P = 0.01). SSF was significantly associated with sit and reach (B = 0.04, P = 0.03). Significant inverse associations were found between FFM and bent arm hang (girls, B = -0.06, P = 0.05), 1600 m run (girls, B = -2.33, P = 0.003) and 50 m run (boys, B = -0.11, P = 0.006). FFM was significantly associated with standing long jump (boys, B = 0.99, P < 0.001; girls, B = 0.73, P < 0.001), flamingo balance (B = 0.17, P < 0.001), and with sit and reach (boys, B = 0.59, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: In the present study in undernourished children, body composition was significantly related to physical fitness, but not always in the expected direction. It is therefore important to note that in this population, BMI should not be interpreted as a measure of fatness/overweight, but rather as an indicator of muscle mass.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Anthropometric assessment of nutritional status of Nigerian children.

Anthropometric evaluations of mid-arm circumference, mid-arm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold, upper arm muscle and fat areas were carried out in 348 healthy Nigerian primary school boys and girls aged 7 to 13 years. Measurements were related to centiles derived from the United States Health and Nutrition examination survey of 1971 to 1974. For all measurements, a large proportion of the subjects fell below the 5th centile. Anthropometric reference standards used to indicate nutritional depletion in developed countries may not be appropriate to assess nutritional status of Nigerian children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Survey of menstrual function in young Nigerian athletes.

Menstrual function was assessed comparatively in different categories of 155 Nigerian athletes, aged 13-19 years, and 135 nonathletes, aged 12-18 years, who answered questionnaires and were interviewed. Menstruation was more regular and normal in the nonathletes (44%) than the athletes (21%). Although both groups generally had similar patterns of menstrual dysfunction, secondary amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea (O/A) was more prevalent in the athletes (25%) than the nonathletes (10%). Among the athletes, only the distance runners were significantly lighter and leaner than nonathletes and athletes of other sports (P less than 0.05). Regardless of sports activity, oligomenorrheic subjects had substantially lower body weight relative to stature and were leaner than subjects of the other menstrual categories. In the oligomenorrheic group, a greater proportion of the athletes (59%) and nonathletes (57%) had lean body mass values below the 41st percentile. The premenarche-trained athletes (48%) reported a higher incidence of menstrual cycle irregularities than the athletes who began training after the menarche. Results support the role of body composition-related factors in the etiology of exercise-associated O/A.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Age and sex differences in motor performance of pre-school Nigerian children.

Differences in motor performance according to chronological age and gender of 341 young Nigerian children (ages 3 to 5) were examined. Motor test items designed by Morris et al. (1981) were administered to the subjects. Analysis of variance was used to determine significant differences in the motor performance of the groups. In the whole sample, more age differences than sex differences in performance were noted. Except for the balancing and running performances of the girls, a fairly linear trend of improvement with age was observed in the motor performances of the groups. At each age level the boys consistently performed better than the girls in four of the six motor tests (catching, standing long jump, tennis ball throw and speed run). Generally, the 4- and 5-year-old children performed homogeneously, with a great disparity in performance noted for the 3-year-old children. The results of this study confirm that age and sex differences in motor performance occur at early childhood. Prospective studies should seek to control the extraneous factors which influence motor development and account for the observed differences in motor performance of pre-school children.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

Menstrual dysfunction in Nigerian athletes.

Menstrual function was assessed in 475 Nigerian athletes in different sports and 606 non-athletes. In general, irregular menstrual cycles and oligomenorrhoea or secondary amenorrhoea (O/A) were more common in the athletes (26% and 21%, respectively) than in the non-athletes (18% and 8%, respectively). Menstruation was more regular and normal in the non-athletes (50%) than in the athletes (22%). It was noted that menstrual dysfunction in the athletes was associated with significantly low body fat, body weight, relative weight for height, and the stress of sports activity. In the groups of athletes the ball game players (35%) and distance runners (51%) most commonly experienced O/A, whereas the incidence of dysmenorrhoea and menorrhagia was most prevalent in the swimmers (37%), and sprinters (42%). Menstrual disturbances were relatively more common in athletes who began training before the menarche (43%).

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Somatotype characteristics of male sprinters, basketball, soccer, and field hockey players.

In an effort to describe the physique associated with regular involvement in sports activity, the somatotypes of a group of 51 elite male athletes comprising sprinters (n = 10), basketball (n = 12), soccer (n = 15), and field hockey (n = 14) players, and 11 male nonathletes were studied. The subjects' physiques were assessed using the Health-Carter anthropometric somatotype method. Analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls post hoc method were used to test for significant differences among the mean somatotype ratings of the groups. The findings indicated that the nonathletes (3.5) were significantly more endomorphic (P less than 0.05) than the soccer players (2.5) and sprinters (2.4). The sprinters (3.6) and basketball players (3.7) had markedly higher ectomorphic ratings (P less than 0.05) as compared with the hockey players (2.0). The mesomorphic component did not differentiate the groups. The differences observed among the groups which could be attributed to genetic and environmental influences reflect the variability in the morphological characteristics of athletes and nonathletes.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Perceived somatotype and stereotypes of physique among Nigerian schoolchildren.

The influence of perceived somatotype on stereotypes of behavior associated with body build was investigated among 160 male and 140 female Nigerian children in secondary school. In both groups, the perception of subjects' own physiques and discrepancy between their perceived and preferred physiques significantly explained the variance in the character trait scores attributed to body types. In general, the subjects attributed positive character traits to their perceived somatotypes and undesirable traits to the physiques with which they were dissatisfied. Thus, the perception of somatotype and discrepancy between perceived and preferred physique could significantly differentiate the character traits attributed to body build among male and female children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Somatotypes of Nigerian athletes of several sports.

Somatotype ratings and percentage body fat of 131 elite Nigerian male athletes, average 24.2 years of age, and belonging to badminton (n = 18), basketball (n = 30), field hockey (n = 24), handball (n = 16), judo (n = 18), and soccer (n = 25) teams were determined. Basketball, handball and soccer players were taller and heavier, and had low percent fat values as compared with the other athletic groups. Judokas and hockey players were endomesomorphs. Other sports groups were predominantly ectomesomorphs.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Influence of 12-week jogging on body fat and serum lipids.

This study examined the influence of different levels of distance running on percent body fat and serum lipids in untrained male University students (n = 40) with a mean age of 24.1 years. Subjects were assigned randomly to four groups (n = 10) in each group): Group 1 (control), Group 2 (1.6 km joggers), Group 3 (3.2 km joggers) and Group 4 (4.8 km joggers). Subjects in the exercise groups jogged the prescribed distances three times a week for 12 weeks at about 85 percent of maximal heart rate. Percent body fat, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were estimated before and after the training programme. In comparison with control group, exercise groups showed statistically significant (p less than .05) decrease of body fat values (1.6 km joggers 6%; 3.2 km joggers 5.33%; 3.2 km joggers 11%; 4.8 km joggers 9.42%). However, Newman-Keul's post hoc analysis showed a significant (p less than .05) reduction in serum triglyceride only in 3.2 km joggers. This was attributed to the high pre-training level of serum triglyceride in the group. Cholesterol values showed insignificant changes. It was concluded that moderate physical activities of different intensities have lowering effects on body fat and serum lipids.

Adipose Tissue↗