Effects of water gymnastics on anthropometric variables of women aged 60 - 80 years

Resumen

This study aimed to analyze the effects of eight months of water gymnastics on the anthropometric variables of women aged 60 - 80 years. The sample comprised formed by 62 women (Experimental Group, EG, n = 50; Control Group, CG, n = 12), who were measured for body mass (kg), stature (cm), circumferences in cm (arms, normal chest, abdomen waist, hip, mid-thigh and calf) and sum of skinfolds representing regional fat (trunk, limbs, central and peripheral), and total fat. The EG participated at all water activities for 32 weeks which, a total of 64 sessions, each lasting for about 45 min. Alpha level was set at p ? 0.05 for all comparisons. For pre-and-post test comparison of the EG, Student’s t test for dependent samples was used. The independent t test was used to compare both groups at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. According to the results the following can be stated: the water gymnastics program followed for 8 months, helped to statistically reduce body mass and body circumferences at waist, hip, mid-thigh and calf levels. Significant differences in the distribution of regional body fat and total fat were observed found (p ? 0.05) at trunk and limbs and in peripheral and total body fat.