Thickness skinfold of female students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University

Abstract

The paper is focused on the evaluation of level and changes in selected somatic indicators of students from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava depending on the differentiation in their motor performance and influence of physical activity on changes in monitored indicators within the subject "Physical Education". The group consisted of 167 students with an average age of 19.25 + 0.93 years. Changes in somatic indicators (Skinfold: Biceps, Triceps, Subscapular, Suprailiacal, Medial calf) during and after four semesters of the course "Physical Education" were monitored by standardized tests in three performance groups – following the entry level of motor performance. The results indicated variability in skinfold thickness in all three performance groups. None of the changes in skinfold thickness was confirmed to be statistically significant. At the end of the follow-up, the thickness of four skinfold in the performance groups "Average" (Biceps, Subscapular, Suprailiacal, Medial calf) and "Below Average" (Biceps, Triceps, Suprailiacal, Medial calf) decreased in agreement with an initial measurement. Suprailiacal skinfold was the only one, in which reduction in thickness in all three performance groups of the probes was observed compared to average input and output value. Both the Friedman test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test were involved to investigate the dynamics of changes in individual indicators. The resulting data were evaluated by the Tukey-Kramer post hoc test, and, in addition, the Cohen test was applied to evaluate the degree of materiality. Statistical significance was investigated at the 1% (p˂0.01) and 5% (p˂0.05) significance level, respectively.