Archive | 2019
Efeito da posição corporal na precisão do apontar de obesos e eutróficos
Abstract
REFINETTI, F. M. Effect of body position on the precision of discrete aiming of obese and normal weight adults. 67 p. Dissertation (Master of Science) School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 2019. Previous research has shown that obesity adversely affects movement time in tasks that require speed and accuracy, specifically when these tasks are performed in a standing position. Nevertheless, no research has shown whether this negative effect extends to the accuracy of the movement, since only correct trials were analyzed, i.e., error magnitude was not considered. This study sought to determine the effect of two body positions, standing upright and seated, on the precision of discrete aiming, in obese and normal weight adults. To investigate this issue, Movement Time (MT), Radial Error (RE) and Preparation Time (PT) were analyzed, as well as the number of movements completed within the target, for each group, in each target and body position. Forty-two women were distributed in two groups according to their Body Mass Index (BMI): obese (OB, BMI = 37.4 + 5.9 kg/m) and normal weight (EU, BMI = 22.2 + 2.1 kg/m). The task goal consisted of moving a circular cursor, showed on a LCD monitor, from the starting position to the center of a target as quickly and accurately as possible, by moving a hand-held stylus on a digitizing tablet. There was four possible target diameters (0.5 cm, 1.0 cm, 2.5 cm and 5 cm), presented 39,5 cm from the cursor initial position, which corresponded to a 25,5 cm displacement of the stylus on the tablet. Participants performed the task in seated and standing upright body positions. For each target size, participants performed 15 trials in each body position (4 target sizes x 15 trials x 2 body positions 120 total). The OB group showed higher MT and lower RE while standing upright, compared to seated. In turn, the EU group showed similar MT and RE, regardless of body position. In addition, none of the groups showed any effect of body position on PT or on the number of completed trials within the target. Therefore, body position affects both MT and accuracy of obese women in a discrete aiming task, opposed to what was observed for normal weight women, indicating that obesity adversely affects the quality of movements that require speed and accuracy when they are performed in a standing upright position.