An investigation of the relationship between body composition and the acquisition of dynamic balance on a stabilometer

The study of body symmetry and composition has been one of the earliest forms of research in physical education. The ultimate goal has been to define the ideal physical characteristics of man and identify how these variables are related to exercise, health and fitness. Within this spectrum there is a paucity of information as to how body composition influences the acquisition of motor skills. This investigation sought to examine the relationship between measurements of body composition and the acquisition of a motor skill, specifically a dynamic balancing motor skill. A review of literature presented and discussed the findings of research into the aspects of anthropometric measurement and of its relation to performance of motor skills. The data were collected for the investigation on a random sample of 78 young, adult males at the college level. Each subject was measured on skinfolds from the chest, axilla, triceps, forearm, and wrist; girth measurements from the shoulder, chest, ankle, biceps, forearm, wrist; and diameter measurements for chest width, knee width, and wrist width. Also, twenty-eight trials were taken and recorded for performance of a dynamic balancing skill on a stabilometer. A factor analytic strategy was used to derive independent parameters of body composition best describing the sources of variation of body weight. The factor analysis of the anthropometric variables yielded body fat, lean body mass general to the bone size and muscle mass of the torso, and lean body mass specific to the extremities as three robust factors. Further factor analysis techniques were used to reduce the trials for performance on the stabilometer to multiple independent dimensions or stages. This strategy yielded three robust factors identified as: initial adaptation to the performance, general level of skill acquisition, and mastery of the skill. Estimates of factor scores were created for the multiple independent parameters of body composition and multiple independent stages of skill performance for subsequent hypotheses testing. Bivariate analysis using Pearson's r indicated no significant linear relationship existed between body composition parameters and performance stages on the dynamic balancing skill. Canonical correlation results of composities of body composition parameters and performance stages indicated no significant linear relationships existed. It was concluded that the lack of statistically significant results could be attributed to the limitations of the study in spanning all the possible parameters which are necessary to explain relationships to acquisition of a motor skill. Based on this conclusion, recommendations were made for future research in this domain.