Body composition and physiological characteristics of overweight and non-overweight Singaporean Chinese male adolescents

• Main Author: Gobinathan Nair.
• Other Authors: Schmidt, Gordon
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Human anatomy and physiology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/20365
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Although previous studies have addressed the issue of the health of overweight adolescents, few researchers have comprehensively examined the body composition and physiological profile of this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the body composition and selected physiological characteristics of overweight adolescent Singapore Chinese males and to examine the relationship of these parameters with that of an age, gender and race matched non-overweight adolescent group. This study addressed the following specific questions: what are the differences (if any) between the classification of individuals based on the Singapore Standard height for weight charts and body composition techniques; what are the differences in the results of measurement of body composition using skinfolds and bioelectric impedance; and what are the differences (if any) between overweight and non-overweight male adolescents in body composition, resting blood pressure, heart rate, blood chemistry, pulmonary function variables and functional aerobic capacity?