Effects of sporting activity on Body Mass Index and cardiovascular endurance among the students of the sporting school and general school: A pilot study from Bangladesh.

Aims: Childhood obesity is one of the leading causes of various musculoskeletal problems and health-related issues among school-going children. Regular sporting activity helps to maintain physical fitness. To compare the effects of physical activity on Body Mass Index (BMI) and cardiovascular endurance among the students of the sporting school and general school. Method and Materials: This pilot study was conducted among the students of the sporting school and general school from a selected area of Bangladesh. A total of 20 participants (10 from sporting schools and 10 from general schools) both males and females took part in this study. Anthropometric measurement was taken after getting consent from the participants. The Havard Step Test was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and an independent t-test were used to compare the data. The p value was set at 0.05 as the level of significance. Findings: The mean age, height, weight, and BMI of the participants in the sporting group were 16.37±1.04 years, 117.72±12.01 cm, 64.25±25 kg, and 19.93±1.10 kg/m^2 and in the non-sporting group were 14.65±0.93 years, 105.22±14.42 cm, 61.23±2.19 kg, and 19.64±2.27 kg/m^2 respectively. There was no significant difference in BMI  (p= 0.412) but cardiovascular endurance (p=0.026) showed a significant difference among sporting school and non-sporting school children. Conclusion: Though females in sporting schools have a high level of cardiovascular endurance results of both groups are not as expected. The study strongly recommended that every school should arrange competitive games at least once a week for their students.