Pulmonary Function of Young Indian Male Judo and Karate Players

Abstract

Present study was aimed to evaluate the pulmonary function in male Indian Judo and Karate players and to compare the data with their sedentary control and overseas counterparts. State level young male non-smoking Judo (n=30) and Karate (n=30) players with minimum five years of regular involvement in training were recruited from different sports academies of Kolkata, India. Non-smoking sedentary control (n=30) subjects were recruited from similar socio-economic background. Physical parameters and pulmonary functions were measured by standard methods. Excepting age and body height all the physical and physiological parameters were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the sedentary control group. Tidal volume, vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second, percentage of forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow rates depicted significantly (p<0.05) higher values in Judo and Karate groups than their sedentary counterparts. Age, body height and body mass were significantly correlated with lung function parameters. Simple and multiple regression equations were computed for predicting pulmonary functions in the studied population. It can be concluded that training in Martial arts like Judo and Karate improved pulmonary function in the athletes. The regression equations were recommended for prediction of pulmonary function in the studied groups. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR