Acta Universitatis Palackianae Olomucensis. Gymnica (Jun 2013)
Comparison of the values of measured hydratation of sporting youths with normative values
Abstract
BACKROUND: When measuring body composition, we monitor the fractionalization of body weight and the share of the individual elements in its aggregate value. The total body water (TBW) is a very important element in addition to the share of body fat (BF), muscle mass and bone minerals. Water is the largest element of the body weight and its sufficient amount (organism hydration) is a condition for maintaining the physiological functions of the person and thus has an immediate effect on the health of the individual. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to check the standard values of the percentage share of the representation of the total body water in the total body weight in different age groups of sporting youths using the tetrapolar bio-impedance Tanita 418 MA scale. METHODS: The research group included a total of 532 individuals (332 men and 200 women) at the age from 12 to 17 years. They were individuals with regular physical activity and without any health problems. The measurement was carried out using the tetrapolar bio-impedance TANITA 418 MA scale. The confidence interval at the reliability level of .99 was used to define the range of the standard values of the percentage share of the total body water representation. The normalization index Ni was used to compare the mean values of the total body water representation with the reference file. RESULTS: The mean values of the TBW representation in boys ranged from 61.75 to 64.34% and in girls from 55.51 to 58.69%, always in relation to the age. The value of the upper bound of (95%) the confidence interval of the Tanita 418 MA device software did not exceed the lower bound of the standard (65%) in any of the monitored files. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed significant gender differences in the total body water representation that, however, the standard of the used device does not respect. The standard values are set high which was also confirmed by the comparison of our results with other studies that used the same method of measurement.
