Men and women do not have the same relation between body composition and postural sway

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of body composition on the postural sway during quiet standing. Our hypothesis is that men and women do not have the same relation between body composition and postural sway during quiet standing. Materials and Methods: Participated in the study 50 men and 50 women; age range: 20-40 years old. The main outcome measures were: Body composition (bone densitometry), percentage of fat (% fat) tissue (g), fat (g), lean mass (g), bone mineral content (g) and bone mineral density (g/cm2); Anthropometry: body mass (kg), height (cm), length of the trunk-head (cm), length of lower limbs (cm). The following indices were calculated: body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) and Postural balance test – center of pressure displacement. Results: The correlation analysis showed low correlations between postural sway and anthropometric variables. The multiple linear regression model showed that the body composition and the anthropometry were able to explain only men’s postural sway. Conclusion: The postural sway is sex type dependent. Men and women have different relations between body composition and postural sway. Only male’s body composition affected the body sway.