Comparison of Postural Stability between Sports Playing Versus Non -Sports Playing Adolescent with BMI > 85Th Percentile

Obesity in adolescent is a world- wide epidemic in developing as well as developed countries. Obesity has a overall effect on various body systems and can lead to atherosclerosis, hypertension, stroke, cancers, hormonal changes, degenerative joint changes, respiratory diseases,it is also associated with various functional problems like pain, joint stiffeness(lower extremities), affected muscle strength and postural deformities.It also has an effect on postural stability, that is the ability to maintain the COG within the BOS. Aim and objective of the study - To compare the postural stability of sports playing versus non-sports playing adolescent with BMI > 23rd adult equivalent(BMI > 85 th percentile) using Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) scale. Study Design - 21 subjects each in sports playing and non sports playing in the age group 12-15 years and with BMI >85 th percentile were evaluated for their balance using the BESS score. Results and analysis – Data analysis was done using Graphpad instat demo version. Unpaired ‘t’ test was done to analyse the data. The analysis showed significant difference between the BESS score of sports playing and non sports playing individuals . Mean and SD of sports playing individuals was 8.52 (+_2.83) . The Mean and SD of Non sports playing individuals was 14.85 ( +_4.041). The mean difference +_ SEM was 6.33 +_1.078.The t value was 5.877. Conclusion - Overweight and obese adolescent who play Regular sports that is for more than 6 week , 3 times a week and for 1 hour , show a significantly better postural stability in the BESS scale with a lower value as compared to those obese and overweight individuals who are not indulged in any sports activity on regular basis, showing a increased score on BESS scale .