Abstract:
Many young adults in Jaffna do gym exercises to shape up their
body mainly to improve their sex appeal or body image. However the
importance of regular exercise on improvement in health parameters is often
ignored by young adults. This study was carried out to describe the effects of
regular physical activity: resistance type of exercise using weights (weight
lifting) on anthropometric, biochemical and physiological parameters.
Regular exercisers (n=30) and a control group (n=30) ranging from 20-30
years of age were selected for this study to determine Body Mass Index
(BMI), Total Body Fat percentage, serum levels of creatinine and uric acid,
fasting plasma glucose level, blood hemoglobin concentration, heart rate and
blood pressure. Independent t-test was performed using SPSS version 16 to
analyze the means differences of various parameters. BMI was significantly
higher (p<0.05) in regular gym exercisers (23.55±2.82) when compared to
non exercisers (21.39±3.47). The total body fat percentage was lower in
regular gym exercisers (20.96±3.02%) than the non exercisers (22.56±4.14%),
but the change was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The serum
creatinine level was significantly higher (p=0.01) in regular gym exercisers
(1.62±0.54mg/dl) than non exercisers (1.33±0.40mg/dl). The serum uric acid
level was not significantly higher (p>0.05) in regular gym exercisers
(8.38±2.03mg/dl) than non exercisers (8.35±0.98mg/dl). The fasting plasma
glucose level was significantly lower in regular (p=0.0001) gym exercisers
(82.33±5.29mg/dl) than non exercisers (89.43±6.79mg/dl). The blood
hemoglobin level was significantly higher (p<0.05) in regular gym exercisers
(15.50±1.21g/dl) than non exercisers (14.32±1.12g/dl). The heart rate was
significantly lower (p=0.0001) in regular gym exercisers (67.2±6.81beats/min)
than non exercisers (75.27±7.77beats/min). The systolic blood pressure was
slightly higher in regular gym exercisers (118.17±12.14mmHg) than non
exercisers (117.3±9.04mmHg), but this difference was not statistically
significant (p>0.05). The diastolic blood pressure was slightly lower in
regular gym exercisers (73.5±8.42mmHg) than non exercisers
(75.43±7.31mmHg) but the change observed in this study was not
statistically significant (p>0.05). The present study shows that the gym
exercise improves health parameters in young adults.
