Aspects of flexibility related to diabetes mellitus and obesity in individuals between 41 and 80 years of age
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62827/fb.v25i6.1042Keywords:
Metabolic syndrome; obesity; exercise; life style.Abstract
Introduction: Flexibility is a component of physical fitness and may decrease with age, sedentary lifestyle and chronic degenerative diseases. Objective: Compared flexibility and the variability of its measurements in individuals aged between 41 and 80 years with or without obesity and/or diabetes mellitus. Methods: 1069 individuals (71.7% men) were classified into four groups: non-diabetic and non-obese (N-DM/OB), obese (OB), diabetic (DM) and diabetic-obese (DM/OB). Flexibility was assessed by the Flexitest. The Flexindex (FLX) was determined, a global indicator of the 20 movements that were later expressed in percentiles for age and sex (P-FLX). The interarticular variability index (IVIA) and intermovement variability index (IVIM) were assessed. The first allowed the assessment of the variability between the scores of the movements of the seven joints and the second informed the variability between the scores of the 20 movements. Indicators of global and distributional subcutaneous fat were evaluated. Results: P-FLX was higher in N-DM/OB (49[28-70]) than DM (26[10-45]), OB (17[5-38]) and DM/OB (11[3-30]) (p<0.01) and variability in flexibility was lower in N-DM/OB (p<0.01). The sum of skinfolds was lower in the N-DM/OB (93.3 [78.3-114.9] and DM (93.3 [74.6-117.4]) groups (p<0.01). The peripheral to central skinfold ratio was lower in N-DM/OB (1.45 [0.95-2.01]) than OB (1.58 [1.21-2.06]), DM/OB (1.64 [1.24-2.32]) and DM (1.83 [1.29-2.35]) (p<0,01). Conclusion: Individuals between 41 and 80 years of age with diabetes and/or obesity had lower levels of flexibility and greater variability in passive mobility between the various joints and movements.
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