Abstract des Autors

In order to evaluate the effects of sporting activity on auxological and anthropometrical variables and the parameters of respiratory function, we examined a group of 181 subjects (149 males, 32 females) with a chronological age from 8-12 years engaging in some kinds of sport. Particularly, we considered the indexes of somatic growth (height, weight), indexes of biological maturation (pubertal stage and, only in a part of the subjects, bone age), indexes of morphological development (head, chest and abdomen circumferences, biacromial and biiliac diameters, high segment/low segment ratio, skinfolds thickness) and spirometric indexes (vital capacity, maximum expiratory volume in 1 second, Tiffeneau's index, peak of expiratory flow, mean maximum expiratory flow). Group 1 was formed by 93 subjects engaging in football, whose 20 ones before the start, 17 after 2 years, 15 after 3 years, 23 after 4 years and 18 after 5 years. By considering all the subjects, no significant difference was shown between present height (SDs and centiles) and mean target height, whereas by considering the single subgroups only in the subjects at the 5th year of activity present height resulted higher than mean target height. No difference was demonstrated for the other examined variables. By considering only the subjects with bone age, height for chronological age was higher than mean target height, height evaluated for bone age and predicted adult height; on the other side, present height evaluated for bone age resulted similar to mean target height and predicted height; also between mean target height and predicted height was not present any difference. Group 2 was constituted by 28 boys engaging in basketball, whose 14 ones at the start of the sporting activity and 14 after 2 years. No significant difference was demonstrated between the two subgroups for all the examined variables. Group 3 was formed by 28 subjects engaging in swimming, whose 14 ones (9 males, 5 females) at the start of the sporting activity and 14 (9 males, 5 females) after 2 years. No significant difference was demonstrated between the two subgroups for all the examined variables. Group 4 was constituted by 32 girls engaging in gymnastics, whose 16 ones at the start of the sporting activity and 16 after 2 years of sport. No significant difference was demosntrated between the two subgroups for all the examined variables. In conclusion, in the subjects engaging in sport from a long time a mild maturative advance sometimes may be found; anyhow, a simultaneous increase in bone age occurred so that auxological definitve variables may be not influenced. Verf.-Referat