Cardiorespiratory fitness and morphological characteristics in goalball players

Abstract

Within the sports activities practiced by people with visual disabilities is goalball, a sport that has had a great massification throughout the world, however the information on the benefits it brings to the health of those who practice it is still limited. The objective of this research is to generate information on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), morphological characteristics, of visually impaired people who practice this sport.We worked with a sample of 34 visually impaired athletes. The variables studied were, CRF, body composition, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR).The results indicate that the studied sample presents for CRF values of 33.6 milliliters per kilogram of weight per minute, 29.6% for the adipose component, 42.6% for the muscle, a somatotype of 4.8 - 5.3 - 1.5, a BMI of 25.6 and an ICC of 0.9. In conclusion, the evaluated visually impaired who practice goalball present adequate CRF values. Clinical trials with this population are suggested to determine the effects of this sport on the health of those who practice it. © Copyright: Federación Española de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educación Física (FEADEF)