The Effect of Different Training Levels on Indicators of Growth and Sexual Maturation in Female Athletes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different sport fields, different training levels and their interactive effects on indicators of growth and sexual maturation of adolescent female athletes. The population consisted of all adolescent female athletes (aged 17-9) in gymnastics, volleyball and table tennis in Arak city and the sample included 49 gymnasts, 82 volleyball players and 38 table tennis players who were selected by multistage cluster sampling method. The data were collected by a demographic questionnaire, the physical activity questionnaire for adolescent (PAQ-A), the Tanner Table and bioelectric resistance method. To analyze the data, covariance analysis at (P≤0.05) was used. The findings showed that different sport fields had significant effects on indicators of height, leg length and fat (P˂0.05). Different training levels had significant effects on indicators of fat (P≤0.05). The interactive effect of different sport fields and different training levels had no significant effects on indicators of growth and sexual maturation (P≥0.05). It was concluded that athletes enter these three sport fields when their growth characteristics are proportional to the needs of that field. Also, maximum 10 hours of exercise training per week have no adverse effects on indicators of growth and sexual maturation of athletes.

Keywords

• adolescent
• athlete
• growth
• sexual maturation
• training levels