ISSN 1991-8410 Volume 06, 2011 Editors - University of Sindh

ISSN 1991-8410 

Volume 06, 2011 

Editors: 

Prof. Yasmeen Iqbal, Ph.D 

Prof. Darlene A. Kluka, Ph.D 

Coordinator: 

Prof. Iqbal Ahmed Qureshi 

A Publication of the 

Centre for Physical Education, Health & Sports Science 

University of Sindh, Jamshoro 

Sindh-Pakistan 

1

About Journal (The Shield) ISSN 1991-8410 

The HEC recognized Research Journal on Physical Education & Sports Science entitled 

The Shield is published annually by the Centre for Physical Education, Health & Sports 

Science, functioning in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, 

Pakistan. 

The major objective of bringing out this journal is to provide a forum for the scholars 

engaged in the study of Physical Education, Health & Sports Science, and the scholars of other 

faculties that relate their subject matter with this important discipline. 

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All correspondence and manuscripts should be addressed to the Editors/Director of the 

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i

The Shield (ISSN-1991-8410) Vol. 06, 2011 

PATRON 

Prof. Nazir A. Mughal, Ph.D. 

Vice-Chancellor, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Prof. Muhammad Tahir Rajput, Ph.D. 

Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 

EDITORS 

Prof. Yasmeen Iqbal, Ph.D. 

Director, Centre for Physical Education, Health & Sports Science, 


Darlene A. Kluka, Ph.D 

Professor and Coordinator, 

Sports Management Programs, Barry University, 

School of Human Performance and Leisure Science, 

Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Miami Shores, Florida, USA 

COORDINATOR 

Prof. Iqbal Ahmed Qureshi 

Former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences 

Ex-Director, Centre for Physical Education, Health & Sports Science 


Prof. Gudrun Doll-Tapper, Ph.D. 

President, 

International Council of Sports Science & 

Physical, Berlin, Germany. 

Prof. Colin Higgs, Ph.D. 

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation 

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada 

Prof. Afzal Kazmi, Ph.D. 

Former Chairman, 

Department of Physical Education, 

University of Karachi, Karachi 

ADVISORY BOARD 

ii 

Prof. Frank Fu, J.P. Ph.D. 

Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences 

Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Tong, 

Hong Kong. 

Prof. Dorothee Alferman, Ph.D. 

Faculty of Sports Science & Management 

Leipzig University, Germany 

Prof. Ikram Hussain, Ph.D. 

Deptt. of Physical Health & Sports Education, 

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

iii 

An Effect Of Mental Toughness 

PANEL OF INTERNATIONAL PEER REVIEWERS 

Prof. Colin Higgs, Ph.D. 

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation 

Memorial University of Newfoundland, 

Canada 

Prof. Darlene Kluka, Ph.D. 

Professor and Coordinator, 

Sports Management Programs, Barry University, 

School of Human Performance and Leisure Science, 

Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, 

Miami Shores, Florida, USA 

Farhan M. Khan, MD 

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, 

Chairman PGIP Committee 

Michigan State University, USA 

Prof. Gudrun Doll-Tepper, Ph.D. 

President, 

International Council of Sports Science & 

Physical Education, Berlin, Germany. 

Prof. Phyllis Love, Ph.D. 

Department of Exercise Physiology / Diabetes, 

Grambling State University, Louisiana, USA 

Dr. Eric Peter Sabonghy, MD 

The University of Texas Medical School 

at Houston, USA 

Dr. Nabeela Iqbal 

Clinical Research Coordinator & Data Manager 

University of Michigan Ann-Arbor, USA 

Prof. Maria Dinold, Ph.D. 

Centre of Sports Sciences and 

University Sports in Vienna, Austria 

Prof. Frank Fu, J.P. Ph.D. 

Dean, 

Faculty of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist 

University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. 

Prof. Abel Lamina, Toriola, Ph.D. 

Department of Sports, Physical Rehabilitation 

and Dental Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, 

Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, 

South Africa 

Prof. Salmar Burger, Ph.D. 

Department of Sports Management, 

University of Pretoria, South Africa 

Prof. Chung Pak-Kwong, Ph.D. 

Head, Department of Physical Education 

Hong Kong Baptist University. 

Prof. Ikram Hussain, Ph.D. 

Ex-Chairman 

Department of Physical Education 

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India 

Doris, R. Corbett, Ph.D. 

Professor & Chairman, 

Department of Health, Human Performance & 

Leisure Studies, Howard University, USA 

Prof. Richard Smith, Ph.D. 

Discipline of Exercise and Sports Science, 

The University of Sydney, Australia 

Prof. Rosa Lopez de D’Amico, Ph.D. 

Department of Physical Education, 

Pedagogic Experimental University 

Liberator in Maracay, Venezuela


Volume 06, 2011 ISSN 1991-8410 

CONTENTS 

An Effect of Mental Toughness on Different Level of Participation in 

Soccer Player 01 

Rajender Singh and Rajesh Kumar 

Sports as a Dynamic Force in the Development of relations among 

Nations in Global Politics 06 

Aslam Pervez Memon, Soniha Aslam Ghouri, 

Deen Muhammad Jalbani and Yasmeen Iqbal Qureshi 

Examination of public parks for physical activity participation by their 

Location, Size and Facilities 14 

M. Muftler, Ahmet Yapar, Salih Gokhan Irez and Mustafa Levent Ince 

Physical activity in individuals living with osteopenia: Association 

with Psychological need satisfaction and motives for well-being. 26 

Diane E. Mack, Katie E. Gunnell, Philip M. Wilson, Jenna D. Gilchrist, 

Kent C. Kowalski, Peter R.E. Crocker, Leah J. Ferguson and J.D. Adachi 

Gender Differences of self-confidence in sports with reference to 

Pakistan Socio-Cultural factors and attitudes towards women 42 

Hameed Rehman, Jumshaid Ahmed and Muhammad Akram Ansari 

A Musculoskeletal injury profile of athletes at a National 

Inter-UniversityAthletic meet in Minipal, Karnataka, India 50 

Parachi Shah, Abraham Samuel Babu, Vaibhavi Satam, H.S. Ballal, 

Fiddy Davis and Arun G. Maiya 

Sports as an institution for gender stereotype challenge and women 

empowerment: A reflection on Nigerian Elite Sportswomen at the Olympics 57 

Ifeanyichukwu C. Elendu and Tammy T. Orunaboka 

Curriculum Quality and Academic Reputation of Physical Education 

College in Health–Fitness Job Marketing in Jordan 70 

Ahmed M. Al-Shishani, Akef M. Taifour and Aman S. Khasawneh 

Physiological Profile of Trained Weightlifters 78 

Bhavana S. Masale and Vijay A. Sawant 

Effect of Combined action of Yogasanas and Pranayama Exercises reduces 

Lipid profiles and enhances antioxidant status in Young Healthy Individuals 83 

Annida Balakrishnan and Suthakar Krishnaswamy 

iv

AN EFFECT OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS ON DIFFERENT 

LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION IN SOCCER PLAYERS 

ABSTRACT 

Dr. Rajender Singh and Rajesh Kumar 

Many a time sportsmen are accused of not having mental toughness 

which is indispensable for high level performance. Thus, mental 

toughness becomes one of the most important aspects to be developed. 

Therefore, it has become the need of the hour to asses the degree of 

mental toughness in order to take necessary steps to improve the 

performance. The sample of the present study comprised of 40 male 

and female university badminton players of India. Keeping the view 

the purpose of the study they were divided into two groups: All India 

Intervarsity (N=30) and Intercollegiate (N=20) male soccer players. 

The result indicated that significance difference between all India 

intervarsity and intercollegiate male soccer players in the mental 

toughness level. It is evident that all India intervarsity and 

intercollegiate male soccer players in mental toughness test differed 

significantly on mental toughness as the obtained t-value of 1.688 is 

much more than the tabulated value t0.05 (58) = 1.671. 

Key Words: Mental Toughness, Handling Pressure, Concentration, Mental Rebounding and Winning Attitude. 

INTRODUCTION 

Successful athletes are supposed 

to be not only Physically Tough but 

Mentally Tough as well. The reason 

for this originates out of the 

realization that top sports are a 

ruthless, cold, and hard business, 

where there is no place for the 

tenderspirited. Tutko’s (1974) characterization 

of such trait indicates that 

the “Mentally Tough” athlete can 

take rough handling; is not easily 

upset about losing, playing badly, or 

being spoken to harshly; can accept 

strong criticism without being hurt; 

and does not need too much 

encouragement from his coach. 

1 

Sport psychologist (researchers 

and practitioners), coaches, sports 

commentators, sports fans, and 

athletes acknowledge the importance 

of mental toughness in sporting 

performance (see Goldberg, 1998: 

Gould & Dieffenbach, 2002; Hodge, 

1994; Tunney, 1987; Williams, 1988). 

In early work on the issue, Loehr 

(1982, 1986) emphasized that athletes 

and coaches felt that at least fifty 

percent of success is due to 

psychological factors that reflect 

mental toughness. 

Jones, Hanton, and Connaughton 

(2002) conducted a qualitative study 

of elite athletes, aiming to define 

mental toughness and to determine


the essential attributes required to be 

a mentally tough performer. 

Cohn (1991) interviewed professsional 

collegiate golfers and found 

them to be highly focused and 

immersed in the task at hand, 

performed effortlessly and automatically, 

felt physically relaxed and 

mentally calm, and felt in control of 

themselves and their performance. 

Garfield and Bennet (1984) interviewed 

numerous elite athletes, who reported 

being mentally and physically relaxed, 

confident, focused on the present, 

highly energized, usually aware, and in 

control when playing well. 

Scarnati (2000) discusses an 

aspect of leadership that is beyond 

technical competence and practice by 

highly successful people. Mental 

toughness is defined as “between the 

ears” toughness. He also provides the 

method to deal with stressful 

situation and despotic bosses. The 

author emphasizes that the mind is 

where battles are truly won and lost. 

Kaiser (1981) conducted a study on 

pain tolerance. The purpose of this 

study was to determine any 

relationship or differences in pain 

tolerance and mental toughness with 

in collegiate football players. The 

conclusion of this study was evident 

between the pain tolerance and 

mental toughness with in collegiate 

football players 

Golby, Shread and Lavalee (2003) 

examined the relaxation between 

2 

demographic characteristics of rugby 

players and selected aspects of 

psychological performance in rugby 

league football. The finding concern 

with previous work indicating 

superior hardiness is related to 

improved performance in sports. 

Fourie and Potgieter (2001) investtigated 

the component of mental 

toughness as reported by 131 expert 

coaches and 160 elite athletes from 

31sports codes. The finding of the 

study is rated the effectiveness of 

coaches and sport psychologists in 

strengthening the characteristic of 

mental toughness more highly than 

athletes did. 

METHODOLOGY 

Subject and Design 

For the purpose of this 

study, both the samples were 

considered the true representative 

of the entire badminton population 

of Indian at the time their 

assessment of the psychological 

variables was done. 

The present study is a status 

study, which did not require the 

investigator basically to manipulate 

any of the variables included in it. 

Rather the collection of data became 

instrumental in providing correct 

insight into the mental toughness. 

The questionnaire on mental toughness 

prepared by Alan Goldberg 

(1986) has sixty items.

The present study was conducted 

on 60 male soccer players of India. 

Keeping in view the objectives, the 

players were categorized into two main 

groups: Intercollegiate (N=30) and All 

India Intervarsity (N=30) male soccer 

players. The sample representing the 

inter collegiate male soccer players 

consisted of those players who are 

members of inter college male soccer 

team of different colleges of Dr. Bhim 

Rao Ambedkar University Agra and 

the sample representing All India 

Intervarsity Man Football players who 

participated in the All India 

Intervarsity Man Football championship, 

2008 held at Goa University, Goa 

from 10/11/2008 to 16/11/2008. 

Statistical Analysis 

This was a comparative study of 

two groups of team game players for 

finding out difference in criterion. 

Measure the mean difference of these 

groups were tested for significance by 

‘t’ test and level of significance was 

set at 0.05 level. 

Analysis of Data and Result of the 

Study 

There are at least two levels 

at which data are categorized, 

presen-ted and analyzed statistically 

in this study. The psychological 

status of all India intervarsity (30) 

and intercolle-giate (30) male soccer 

players has been compared. 

3 


Mean and Standard Deviation of All 

India Intervarsity and Intercollegiate 

Male Soccer Players India on Mental 

Toughness Variable 

Mean scores and standard deviations 

of the two groups on mental 

toughness variable are presented in 

Table – 1. 

Variable 

Mental 

Toughness 

Table-1 

All India 

Intervarsity 

Players 

Intercollegiate 

Players 

Mean S.D. Mean S.D. 

36.6 7.85 33.46 6.41 

Comparison of Mental Toughness 

of All India Intervarsity and Intercollegiate 

Male Soccer Players 

‘t’ test of mental toughness is 

given in Table-2 and graphically 

portrayed in Figure-1 

SCORES 

37 

36.5 

36 

35.5 

35 

34.5 

34 

33.5 

33 

32.5 

32 

31.5 

MENTAL TOUGHNESS 

36.6 

ALL INDIA 

INTERVARSITY 

LEVELS 

33.46 

NORTH ZONE 

INTERVARSITY 

Fig.1: Comparison of Mental Toughness of 

All India Intervarsity and Intercollegiate 

Male Soccer Players.


Table-2 

Significance of Difference of Mean 

in Mental Toughness on Male and 

Female Badminton Players 

Group Mean Mean SEM T- Significance 

Difference 

value level 

All India 

Intervarsity 

36.6 3.14 1.86 1.688 0.05 

Intercollegiate 33.46 

* Significant at .05 level 

Tab t.0.5 (58) = 1.671 

RESLUT 

It is observed from the Table-2 that 

means index score has increase by 3.14 

after the test. Since calculated ‘t’ > 

Tabulated ‘t’ (1.688>1.671). The result 

indicated that significance difference 

between all India intervarsity and 

inter-collegiate male soccer players in 

the mental toughness level. It is 

evident that all India intervarsity and 

inter-collegiate soccer players in 

mental toughness test differed 

significantly, as the obtained t-value of 

1.688 is much more than the tabulated 

value t 0.05 (58) = 1.671. 

DISCUSSION 

From the analysis of data 

significance difference is found 

between All India Intervarsity and 

Intercollegiate players in the mental 

toughness level. It is evident that all 

India intervarsity and intercollegiate 

players in mental toughness test 

differed significantly, as the obtained 

t-value of 1.688 is more than the 

tabulated value t 0.05 (58) = 1.671. 

4 

The performance of soccer has been 

regularly influenced to a great extent 

by skills, Psychological variables and 

psychological compo-nents for the 

University players. In modern soccer 

game, psychological factors, fitness and 

rudiments of the game have been over 

emphasized at any level of competition. 

Each player is necessarily required to 

be continuously stable and fit physically 

and psychologically. This puts a 

great deal of demand physically and 

mentally. 

The present study found significant 

difference. All India inter-varsity 

players had shown high mental 

toughness in comparison with intercollegiate 

players. (Golby, Shread and 

Lavalee, 2003; Jones, 2002; Daniels, 

1972; Fourie and Potgieter, 2001; Gould, 

Hodge, Peterson, & Petlichkoff, 1987; 

Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). 

The highly mental toughness was 

measured and significant differences 

were found. The reason may be intercollegiate 

players seem to loose against 

the players whom they think better. 

Some players have also the tendency of 

getting injured before the big matches. 

Most of the players are not able to 

perform well due to nervous-ness. 

Most of the intercollegiate players think 

about their past poor performances but 

they concentrate only on the game after 

the start of the match. They also get 

distracted by what others say or do 

before the match. Most intercollegiate 

players think about their mistakes 

during rest of the match, which affect

their further performance. They are not 

able to let go off any unfair thing if 

happens to them in the match. But All 

India Intervarsity players have well 

experienced confi-dence and exposure 

level also high. He participates many 

times in the tourna-ment, he not gets 

distracted by what others say or do 

before the match. Most of the All India 

Intervarsity players not think about 

their mistakes during rest of the match, 

which affect their further performance. 

REFERENCE: 

Cohn, P.J. (1991). An exploratory study 

on peak performance in golf. The 

Sport Psychologist. 5, 1-4. 

Daniels, Alice Diane (November, 1972) 

“Pain Tolerance and Cardiac 

Responses to Pain of Low and High 

Anxious Subjects Before and After 

Exercise” Dissertation Abstracts 

International 33:5: 2147-A. 

Fourie, S. and Potgieter, J.R. (2001) “The 

Nature of Mental Toughness in 

Sport” South African Journal for 

Research in Sports, Physical Education 

and Recreation. 

Goldberg, A.S. (1998). Sports slump 

busting: 10 steps to mental toughness 

and peak performance. Champaign, 

IL: Human Kinetics. 

Golby, J.; Sheard, M. and Lavalle, D. 

(April, 2003) “A Cognitive 

Behavioural Analysis of Mental 

Toughness in National Rugby League 

Football Team” Percept of Motor Skills. 

Gould, D., Dieffenbach, K., & Moffett, 

A. (2002). Psychological Characteristic 

and Their Development of Olympic 

Champions. Journal of Applied Sport 

Psychology, 14, 172-204. 

5 


Gould, D., Hodge, K., Peterson, K., & 

Petlichkoff, L. (1987). Psychological 

Foundations of Caching: Similarities 

and Differences among Intercollegiate 

Wrestling Coaches. The Sport 

Psychologist, 1, 293-308. 

Hodge, K. (1994). Mental toughness in 

sport: Lessons for life. The pursuit of 

personal excellence. Journal of Physical 

Education New Zealand, 27, 12-16. 

Jones, G., Hanton, S. & Connaughton, 

D. (2002). What is this thing called 

mental toughness? An investigation 

of elite sport performers. Journal of 

Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 205-218. 

Loehr, J.E. (1982). Athletic excellence: 

Mental toughness training for sports. 

Forum Publishing Company. 

Loehr, J.E. (1986). Mental toughness 

training for sports: Achieving athletic 

excellence. Lexington, MA: Stephen 

Greene Press. 

Scarnati, J.T. (May 2000) “Beyond 

Technical Competence; Developing 

Mental Toughness” Career Development 

International, Vol. V, No. 3. 

Tutko, Lyon T. (1974) “The Athletic 

Motivational Inventory”, (California: 

The Institute of for the Study of 

Athletic Motivation, 1969), Cited by 

Alderman, Richard B., Psychological 

Behavior in Sport, United States of 

America: Saunders Company. 

Tunney, J.(1987). Thoughts on the line. 

Mental toughness: Biceps for the 

mind. Soccer Journal, 32, 4950 

Williams, R.M. (1988). The U.S. open 

character test: Good strokes help. But 

the most individualistic of sports is 

ultimately a mental game. Psychology 

Today, 22, 60-62.

SPORTS AS A DYNAMIC FORCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

RELATIONS AMONG NATIONS IN GLOBAL POLITICS 

ABSTRACT 

Dr. Aslam Pervez Memon, Dr. Soniha Aslam Ghouri, 

Dr. Deen Muhammad Jalbani and Dr. Yasmeen Iqbal Qureshi 

Sports are understood as one of the dynamic forces in developing 

national integrity among the masses creating national unity in the 

country; whereas sports diplomacy is referred when sport is used as a 

political means to improve relations and some times may worsen 

diplomatic relations between two nations. The intention is to bring 

about fundamental changes relating to fine relations. While the 

Olympics events are the leading political examples of using sports for 

diplomatic means, such as cricket, table tennis and football as well as 

other international sports competitions have also been used in this 

regard. In the case of Apartheid, competitive sport was used to isolate 

South Africa that brought major changes in nation's social structure 

in terms of socio- political relationship, examining the sports 

diplomacy which implemented Nelson Mandela of South Africa for 

national reconciliation, and Iran’s former President Khatami's 

inspiring initiative provided an opening for a watchful 

rapprochement policy with USA, favoring peoples mutual contacts 

between these two nations to release tensions developed between 

them that may be compared with Ping Pong diplomacy, which 

softened US-Chinese relations. 

Key Words: Sports, rapprochement, dynamic, diplomacy, apartheid, relationship, pride, tensions, 

integrity and nationalism. 

METHODOLOGY 

This article has been developed 

on the basis of descriptive research 

method and data was collected from 

various books and sports magazines, 

analyzing it from biographies 

published in national and international 

newspapers of leading former 

international players of Football, 

Cricket and Table Tennis and also 

from personal sports experiences. The 

survey question-nnaire was administered 

to 100 students and 20 visiting 

6 

and regular faculty members of the 

Centre for Physical Education, Health 

and Sports Science, functioning in the 

Faculty of Natural Sciences at 

University of Sindh, Jamshoro, and 

the results of the respondents were 

further processed for analysis. 

INTRODUCTION 

Most of the international sports 

competitions are contested between 

national teams, which encourage the 

use of sporting events for nationalist 

purposes that may have organized

intentionally or sometimes with 

other reasons. The national 

solidarity achieved through sport 

may be one of the primary sources 

of developing nationalism as 

popular sports events, which people 

like the most, are considered a 

matter of national pride for them 

and cricket test match series 

between Australia and England 

popularly known as ‘Ashes’ comes 

in the same category of national 

honor. Similarly, test cricket series 

between India and Pakistan place 

both countries virtually immobile 

where match is being played and 

the normal traffic on roads is 

heavily reduced as it has turned into 

a matter of national honor for the 

majority of the local people. 1 The 

Olympic Games are the leading 

juncture for meeting the nationalist 

purposes, as it reflects the history of 

political conflicts between them 

since its inception at the end of the 

19th century. The 1936 Summer 

Olympics held in Berlin, Germany 

has been an illustration of vital 

recognition of the sensitivity of the 

prevalent situation, where an 

ideology was rising which used the 

Olympic event to strengthen its 

position through propaganda. 

Consequently, United States refused 

to participate and politically aligned 

nations joined her in the boycott of 

summer Olympics of 1988 and 

Soviet Union considered it as the 

part of the Cold War conflict. 2 

7 


It would be convenient for the 

researcher to argue first with the 

impact of apartheid nations 

confining their policies developing 

political systems of their governments 

which was against the United 

Nation’s Human Rights Charter, 

then, elaborated on the charm of 

Olympic games which witnessed 

boycotts and conflicts between 

nations, and the Ping Pong diplomacy 

that reconciled the relations 

between USA and Peoples Republic 

of China. Further, charisma of 

Cricket gave rise making friendships 

and some times brought some 

tensions among the people and 

lastly attraction. Soccer (Foot ball) 

game has been discussed that 

brought severe conflicts and 

observed clashes among nations 

that also conveyed for national 

integration and bringing unity 

among the citizens of these nations, 

the incidences took place in various 

countries would be good examples 

in this regard. Such as: 

a. Apartheid Policy 

It is notable that sporting 

boycott of South Africa during 

Apartheid understood to have 

played vital role in forcing South 

Africa to open up their society and 

to end a global isolation. South 

Africa was barred from the 1964 

Summer Olympics and many sports' 

governing bodies expelled or 

suspended membership of South

Sports as a Dynamic Force 

African affiliations. It was said that 

the international boycott of apartheid 

sport has been an effective 

move toward sensitizing world 

opinion against apartheid and 

mobilizing millions of citizens for 

action against that disgraceful 

political system. The imposed ban 

helped change official policies towards 

participation in sports. 3 

The South African Table Tennis 

Board, founded in contravention to 

the United Nations human rights, 

White South African table tennis 

board was replaced in consequence 

of the boycott of the International 

Table Tennis Federation. While 

former body managed to participate 

in the world championships held in 

Stockholm in 1957, and team 

members were refused passports by 

the government as it ruled that no 

black person can compete internationally 

except through the white 

sports body. 

United Nations in 1980 advised 

member countries to inform about 

sports contacts with South Africa and 

provide a list of sportsmen who have 

participated in sports events. That 

action proved to be an effective 

instrument discouraging collaboration 

with apartheid sport and later on 

in the same year South Africa was 

expelled from most inter-national 

sports bodies and on June 21, 1988, 

International Olympic Committee 

approved a declaration for the total 

isolation of apartheid sport. 4 

8 

b. Olympics Charm 

In 1936 Olympics, Adolph Hitler 

used it as a vital occasion to 

promote superiority of Germany 

with his ideological belief of racial 

domination. These games were used 

as a means of strengthening the 

German potency and bringing unity 

among the youth. It was also 

believed that sport was a "way to 

weed out the weak, Jewish, and 

other undesirable communities. As 

a result, many Jews and Gypsies 

were banned from participating in 

sporting events, while Germany 

secured top position in winning 

medals, the Nazi portrayed ethnic 

Africans as inferior nation was 

dispelled by Jesse Owens' gold 

medals in the 100m, 200m 4x100m 

relay and long jump events. 5 

Again, in 1968, Olympic Games 

were used to demonstrate the world 

the plight of the African-American 

struggle during the civil rights 

movement in their home country. 

Black American, John Carlos during 

the medal ceremony in Mexico City, 

performed the well-known Black 

Power salute. In 1972, Israeli 

Olympic athletes of Jewish team 

were massacred in an assault by 

Palestinian gunmen at the Olympic 

village that eventually resulted in 17 

deaths of the team members. In 

1980 the Soviet invasion of 

Afghanistan led to a boycott of the 

Moscow Olympics by a large part of 

the western nations and their allies

in protest against Russian actions. In 

the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics the 

Soviet Bloc countered a retaliatory 

action in the form of boycott of the 

games in response to the Americanled 

Moscow games. 6 

c. Ping-Pong Diplomacy 

The exchange of table tennis 

players between the United States 

and the People’s Republic of China 

led to make softer policies in Sino- 

American relations that eventually 

led US President Richard Nixon to 

endorse rapprochement policy with 

the Chinese government. It was the 

first initial public information of 

improved U.S. China relations 

known to the world on April 6, 

1971, when the American Ping-Pong 

team was visiting Japan, received a 

surprise invitation from their 

Chinese colleagues to visit People's 

Republic of China. On April 10, nine 

players, four officials, and two 

spouses stepped across a bridge 

from Hong Kong to the Chinese 

mainland. It was the first group of 

Americans allowed in Chinese 

territory since the Communist takeover 

in 1949. 7 Ten journalists, 

including five Americans, were also 

invited to cover the visit of the team 

thus, ending the information blockade 

from the People's Republic since 

1949.The delighted American public 

were aware of the daily progress of 

the visit through newspapers and 

television, as the Americans played 

9 


and lost exhibition matches with 

their hosts, traveled around the 

Great Wall, Summer Palace and 

during their visit chatted with 

Chinese students and factory 

workers and had the opportunity to 

attend the Canton Ballet. 

d. Cricket Charisma 

The charisma of Cricket has also 

played important role in developing 

relations between the nations help 

to improve and some times severe 

the relations between them. 

Pakistan and India is the good 

example, which seems developed 

tensions in global politics. 

Following the Soviet invasion of 

Afghanistan, and Soviet pressurized 

India to deflect the tension they are 

confronted with. Pakistan's dictator 

and former president General Ziaul-Haq, 

in 1987 watched a test 

match between India and Pakistan 

in Jaipur, apparently it helped to 

cool down the tensions and fifteen 

year break in playing test matches, 

cricket tours between India and 

Pakistan were also revived in 2004 

in the wake of diplomatic initiatives 

to bury past history of mutual 

hostility. Both sides relaxed their 

tough visa regulations for each 

other, allowing thousands of fans to 

travel across the border. 

Taking the advantage of the 

cricket diplomacy another dictator 

and former president Gen. Pervez 

Musharaf visited India in 2005


apparently for a cricket match. The 

trip, however, quickly turned over to 

summit meeting as both sides 

willing to avail a historic chance to 

end their dispute over Kashmir as 

this enmity has traced with a 

religious-political current of air to it. 

A Pakistani fan in Karachi ran on the 

pitch to attack the Indian captain, 

and fans threw stones at the Indian 

players during the match in Karachi, 

and in 2006 a Hindu extremist dug 

up the cricket pitch in New Delhi to 

protest against Pakistan team's visit. 

The Mumbai attack on Parliament in 

2008, the terrorists were believed to 

be from Pakistan also aggravated the 

situation and India boycotted all 

kinds of mutual talks with bordering 

nations. 8 

e. Football Attraction 

The war between El Salvador 

and Honduras took place mainly on 

the sensitive rivalry of Football 

game that led to the war along with 

serious socio-economic issues of 

infamous immigration and land 

reforms fueled to chaos in these 

countries. The rise of tensions 

encouraged rioters during the 

second North American qualifying 

round of 1970 FIFA World Cup 

fighting broke out during the first 

game in Tegucigalpa, the situation 

worsen in San Salvador. The 

Honduran fans were physically 

beaten and humiliated, its flag was 

torched and insulted national 

10 

anthem. Consequently the emotions 

of both nations became agitated. In 

retaliation, violence against Salvadoran 

residents in Honduras increased 

and number of Salvadorans 

brutally killed and tens of thousands 

began fleeing the country. 

The press of both nations also 

contributed to a growing climate of 

near-hysteria, and on June 27, 1969, 

Honduras broke diplomatic relations 

with El Salvador and on July 

14, 1969, the Salvadoran army 

launched an attack against 

Honduras. The Organization of 

American States negotiated a ceasefire 

which took effect on July 20, 

with the Salvadoran troop’s withdrawal 

in early August, 1969. 9 

During 1986 Mexico World Cup, 

after the Falklands War between 

Argentina and the United Kingdom, 

Diego Mara Dona scored a goal that 

fuel the fire between the two sides 

and matter further worsen as it was 

an unrecognized foul using the 

hand (referee did not watch it) to 

score a goal that severed relationships 

between these nations, called 

it as hand of God. 10 

In 1998 FIFA World Cup 

held in France, Iran recorded their 

first World Cup victory in the 

second game, Iran beat the United 

States by 2-1 goals. The match was 

preheated with much excitement as 

both countries’ political stance was 

detached after the Iranian 

revolution. However, both sides

presented one another with gifts 

and flowers and stood together for a 

picture before the match kickoff. 11 

The 2004 AFC Asian Cup held in 

China during the final between 

China and Japan, apparently due to 

historical relations dating back to 

World War II (2 nd. Sino-Japanese 

War and Nanjing Massacre), the 

home fans expressed their anti- 

Japanese sentiment by insulting 

national anthem with their anti- 

Japan slogans. 12 The Chinese fans 

hooted at the players and watched 

Japan beating China by 3-1 score 

and after the conclusion of match, 

some Chinese fans witnessed 

uprising outside the Beijing 

Worker's Stadium. 

On September 6, 2008, Armenia 

and Turkey teams faced each other 

in 2010 FIFA World Cup 

qualification match in Yerevan, 

where the presidents of Turkey and 

Armenia sat together behind the 

bullet-proof glass, where the 

Turkish national anthem was 

insulted and hooted showing 

mistrust between the two countries. 

However, the gesture shown by the 

presidents demonstrated football 

diplomacy to resolve peacefully the 

legacy of the 20th century's first 

genocide. 13 

CONCLUSION 

It is rightly concluded that Sports 

play a vital role in the development of 

both national identity and national 

11 


pride, although it confirms that 

national team’s success and hosting 

events throw a light in this direction. 

The increased self-esteem and 

national honor pertaining to all 

members of the society utilize sports 

to construct their national identity. 

Further, it should not be assumed 

that all people within a community 

would derive pride from associating 

themselves with sporting success. It 

could be just one of the characteristics 

that influence perceptions of national 

identity and national pride as it 

becomes a major source in the 

development and expression of 

national aspirations. 14 The philosophy 

of Olympic Games is considered to be 

the effective way of discouraging 

nations collaborating with apartheid 

sport, expelled South Africa from 

international sports bodies and 

declared total isolation of apartheid 

sports. The sports teams and events 

provide people with psychological 

benefits as well, which leads with 

pride and contributes towards 

people’s better life style, confirming 

that sports has the capability to 

develop psycho-social behavior 

which promotes the maintenance of 

mental well-being and developing 

social interaction, societal cohesion, 

creating harmony and national 

integration. Consequently, many 

governments of these countries took 

adequate efforts to unify the multiethnic 

and multi-religious communities 

to revive the national spirit


which was prevalent under their 

dynamic leadership at the time of 

independence and following the rise 

of the nationalism in African, North 

American and Asian countries, 

attempted effective policies for social, 

political and economic development 

to promote social progress, reducing 

political tensions and maximizing 

economic performance for better and 

prosperous life standard of the 

people. 

REFERENCES 

1. Alegi, P. (2004) Laduma! Soccer, 

Politics and Society in South 

Africa University of KwaZulu- 

Natal Press, Scottsville 

2. Allison, L. and Monnington, T. (2002) 

Sport, Prestige and International 

Relations. Government and 

Opposition 37:1, pp. 106-134. 

3. Asmal, K., Chidester, D. and Lubisi, 

C. (2005) Legacy of Freedom: The 

ANC Human Rights Tradition 

Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg 

4. Beacom, Aaron. (2000) Sport in 

International Relations: A Case 

for Cross-disciplinary Investigation. 

The Sports Historian 20:2, pp. 1-23 

5. Booth, D. (1998). The Race Game: 

Sport and Politics in South 

Africa. Frank Cass, London 

6. Broere, M. and Van der Drift, R. 

(1997) Football Afrika! World 

View, Oxford Press, London. 

12 

7. Darby, P. (2008) Stanley Rous's 

'own goal' football politics, 

South Africa and the contest 

for the FIFA Presidency in 

1974-9, p. 2. 

8. Gevisser, M. (2007) Thabo Mbeki: 

The Dream Deferred Jonathan 

Ball Publishers, Johannesburg 

and Cape Town 

9. Grundlingh, A., Odendaal, A. 

and Spies, B. (1995) Beyond the 

Tryline: Rugby and South African 

Society. Ravan Press, Johannesburg 

10. Keys, B. (2006) Globalizing Sport: 

National Rivalry and International 

Community in the 

1930s. Harvard University 

Press, Cambridge, M.A. 

11. Lapchick, R. (June 1976) Apartheid 

Sport and South Africa's Foreign 

Policy: 1976. UN Centre against 

Apartheid, Department of Political 

and Security Council Affairs 

12. Limb, P. (2008). The Anti-Apartheid 

Movements in Australia and 

Aoteroa / New Zealand. The 

Road to Democracy in South Africa: 

Volume 3, International Solidarity, 

Part 2 pp. 907-982. UNISA Press, 

Pretoria — South African 

Democratic Education Trust 

13. Nye, J. (2004). Soft Power: The 

Means to Success in World 

Politics Public Affairs, New 

York

Questionnaire: 

ANNEXURE- 1 

13 


Respondents were administered the questionnaire to answer 

marking Yes or No or to some extent. It has been prepared on 10 point Liker 

scale analyzing the results of this research paper. 

Sr. 

No 

Question Yes No 

01 Popular sportsmen possess the qualities of sportsmanship 

spirit to develop tolerance in resolving conflicts. 

02 Match temperament is essential to normalize situation in 

bringing cordial relations between national teams. 

03 Some times popular sports competitions severe the 

relationships between two nations. 

04 Alarming socio-political and economic conditions and 

conflicts between nations create tensions leading to 

clashes or war. 

05 Apartheid policies debarred South Africa from Olympics 

Games and international sports competitions. 

06 Popular sports bring national unity and integration 

among the people of two completive teams. 

07 The sticky Indian politicians attempt to score points 

avoiding playing test Cricket series in Pakistan. 

08 The arrangement of ‘Shanti’ or Peace Cup of Cricket test 

match Series would be a remarkable achievement for 

India and Pakistan to release the tensions 

09 Sports should be kept clean of Politics and be held to 

develop the unity and tranquility among the nations to 

promote the standard of life style of the people. 

10 Popular sports are considered to be an effective force in 

making relations between nations. 

To Some 

Extent

EXAMINATION OF PUBLIC PARKS FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 

PARTICIPATION BY THEIR LOCATION, SIZE AND FACILITIES 

ABSTRACT 

M. Muftuler, Ahmet Yapar, Salih Gokhan Irez, and Dr. Mustafa Levent Ince 

The purpose of this study was to examine park users’ Physical 

Activity (PA) participation in three different public parks with 

identical differences in location, size and facilities in Ankara, Turkey. 

System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities – 

SOPARC (McKenzie et al., 2006) was used for data collection. The 

results indicated significant differences in use of parks for PA 

(p

social-ecological approach, social 

environment (such as influence of 

significant others, community 

norms, cultural background); physical 

environment (such as availability 

and access to facilities, 

quality of facilities, safety, public 

transports); public policies (such as 

urban planning, educational, health, 

environmental policies) should be 

considered with individual level 

influences (such as knowledge, 

attitudes, PA skills) to better 

understand the PA behavior of 

people (Stokols, 1992). 

Even though individual level 

influences to PA behavior was 

described very well in the literature, 

influences of social environment, 

physical environment and policy 

issues has recently taken a greater 

interest from the researchers (Sallis, 

Cervero, Ascher, Henderson, Kraft 

and Kerr, 2006; Cochrane and Davey, 

2008; Sallis et al., 2009). Especially, 

providing environmental supports 

including public parks have accepted 

as one of the most promising method 

to promote PA in some of these 

studies (Floyd, Spengler, Maddock, 

Gobster and Suau, 2008; Reed, 

Morrison and Arant, 2009). A review 

by Kaczynski and Henderson (2008) 

indicated that public park areas and 

recreation settings had statistically 

significant effects on PA participation. 

Public park areas promote 

PA participation because of easy 

access and open facilities provided 

15 


for all people at all ages (Bedimo- 

Rung, Mowen and Cohen, 2005; 

Cohen, McKenzie, Sehgal, Williamson, 

Golinelli and Lurie, 2007; Reed 

et. al., 2008). 

Considering the socio-cultural and 

physical environment for PA unique to 

each country, number of comparative 

studies about the PA neighborhood 

enviro-nment has been increased (Sallis 

et al., 2009). However, comparisons in 

these studies were mainly included the 

western or developed countries. There 

is a lack of research exami-ning the 

physical environment, especially 

focusing on the park and recreation 

area, use by the people in developing 

countries. As a developing country, 

Turkey is an interesting example with 

its cultural background, developing 

economy and approximately 70 million 

populations. Geographically a part of 

the country is in Europe and the other 

part is in Asia, and it includes both 

western and eastern socio-cultural 

influence. Despite the current efforts to 

increase the public awareness about the 

importance of PA participation in 

Turkey, there is still a lack of 

information about the use of public 

parks for PA. This knowledge is 

necessary for health promotion 

specialist as well as park area planners. 

Having information about the use of 

park areas for PA in Turkey, also 

provide necessary evidence to use in 

cross cultural comparisons. 

Therefore, the purpose of this 

study was to examine park users by

Examination Of Public Parks For Physical Activity 

sex, age group, activity preferences, 

activity day and time preferences in 

three different public parks with 

identical differences in location, size 

and facilities in Ankara, Turkey. 

METHOD 

Park selection 

Public parks were selected on 

the basis of their location, size and 

facilities. Demographical features of 

the selected public parks were 

presented in Table 1. 

As presented in Table 1, each 

park has varied in location, size 

and facilities. The Park A was in a 

centralized location (i.e., 850m to 

the center of the city) as compared 

to the Park B and Park C (i.e., 7.2 

km to the center and 6.7 km to the 

center, respectively). In terms of the 

size of the public parks, the Park A 

was large-in-size (110,000 m 2), the 

Park B was moderate-in-size 

(11,000 m 2), and the Park C was 

small-in-size (4,141 m 2), relatively. 

According to the Turkish Statistical 

Institute, the socioeconomic status 

(SES) of the neighborhood in which 

the public parks were located is 

categorized as high. 

16 

Although all the three public parks 

were located in high SES 

neighborhood, the facilities 

provided in the parks varied due 

to the size of the parks. There was 

no alternative public park for PA 

participation near the selected 

parks. All of the three public parks 

were located very close to the 

houses / apart-ments and schools. 

Considering their facilities, Park A 

had a walking path, two separate 

areas with fitness equipments, 

table tennis areas, playground, 

cafes, grass areas, and banks for 

sitting. Although the facilities in 

Park B were categorized as poor 

because there was no area with 

fitness equipment, still it had two 

separate walking paths, grass area, 

playground, and banks for sitting. 

The Park C had a walking path, 

area with fitness equip-ment, 

basketball court, play-ground, and 

banks for sitting. The Park A and 

Park B had no facilities for team 

sports, like basketball court, 

football area, volleyball court and 

etc. Only the Park C had a 

basketball court. In the three 

public parks, there were also no 

organized activities for community 

and for elder people.

INSTRUMENTATION 

SOPARC which is a valid and 

reliable direct observation instrument 

(McKenzie, 2002) was used to 

examine the use of the public parks 

for PA. It is designed to make 

observation in open envir-onments 

such as public parks to obtain 

information about the number of 

participants, their sex, age, PA 

preferences, and also to provide 

contextual information about the 

setting in which PA occurs. It is based 

on momentary time sampling. 

Observation occurs one at a time to 

count the participants in the observed 

areas (McKenzie et. al., 2006). 

17 


Park A Park B Park C 

Location Central Suburban Suburban 

The distance to 

the city center 

850 m 7.2 km 6.7 km 

Size Large Medium Small 

The size in m 2 110,000 m 2 11,000 m 2 4,141 m 2 

Socioeconomic 

status (SES) 

High High High 

Facilities Good Poor Moderate 

The number of 

PA facilities 

Year of 

construction 

Table-1 

Demographic characteristics of the public parks 

One walking path 

Two separate areas 

with fitness 

equipments 

Other areas 

One walking path 

No area with 

fitness 

equipments 

Other areas 

1999 (renewed) 2000 2006 

Two walking paths 

One separate area 

with fitness 

equipments 

Other areas 

As the public parks are very 

complex settings to observe, there is 

a need to virtually divide the whole 

park area into smaller areas (subtarget 

areas). Moreover, the time of 

the day in which the observations 

take place should also be 

predetermined in accordance with 

the SOPARC description and 

procedures manual (McKenzie and 

Cohen, 2006). Therefore, in each 

sub-target area, the observers make 

four different observations in the 

predetermined time periods including 

morning, noon, afternoon, and 

evening time periods at 7:30AM; 

11:30AM; 3:30AM; and 6:30AM, 

respectively. For accurate obser-


vations, the observers should make 

simultaneous scans for females and 

males separately with the information 

about their age groups (child, 

teen, adult, and senior) and PA 

levels (walking and vigorous). 

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE 

Before the actual data collection 

was occurred, the observers practiced 

3-day training by using SOPARC 

manual. At the end of these training 

days, the observers became familiar 

with this methodology. The actual 

data collection was taken place in 

August, 2009 within a consecutive 7day 

periods for each public park. 

Three independent observers made 

their observation in each subtarget area 

separately. The subtarget areas were: 

(a) walking path, (b) the area with 

fitness equipments and (c) the other 

free activity areas, including the area 

with table tennis, basketball court, 

cycling area, grass area and the like. 

Moreover, each sub-target area in each 

public park was observed within a 7day 

period, for an hour at four different 

time periods. Totally 252 different 

observation sessions were performed. 

Among these total observations, 10 

observation sessions were randomly 

selected for reliability data. The 

reliability percentages were calculated 

with the use of van der Mars’s equation 

(1989). The interater reliability for 

different variables was changing 

between 72.2 and 99.1% for different 

variables [sex = 98.16% (97.17% for 

women and 99.11% for men); age 

18 

groups = 94.22% (92.59% for child, 

95.24% for teen, 95.11% for adult, 

91.18% for senior); PA preferences = 

94.92% (97.48% for walking and 72.22% 

for vigorous)]. Level of inter-rater 

reliability was good (van der Mars, 1989). 

DATA ANALYSIS 

The simple descriptive statistics 

were used to determine the frequencies 

and percentages of participants by sex, 

age group, PA preferences and the day 

and time preferences for the use of the 

park areas. The chi-square analyses 

were used to compare three public 

parks (p < .05). 

RESULTS 

Descriptive analyses of the public parks 

The results of the descriptive 

analyses are presented Table 2. At 

the end of a seven-day observation 

of each park, a total of 3119 park 

users were observed. The most 

frequently used park was the Park 

A with a total of 2287 (73.3%) park 

users. There were 323 (10.4%) park 

users in Park B and 509 (16.3%) in 

Park C. There were a total of 1585 

(50.8%) women park users and 1534 

(49.2%) men park users. Among all 

of the park users, 311 (10%) of them 

were categorized as child, 341 

(10.9%) of them were categorized as 

teen, 2105 (67.5%) as adults, and 362 

(11.6%) as senior (older adults). 

Most of the park users (80.6%) were 

generally used the park for walking 

activity, rather than vigorous PA 

(19.4%). The most frequently used

days were Tuesday with a total of 

566 park users and Saturday with a 

total of 507 park users. The least 

frequently used days were Friday (n 

= 309) and Thursday (n = 335). 

Among the four different time 

periods of a day, the most 

frequently used time period was 

evening time (41.3%) and morning 

time (36.4%). At noon and afternoon 

time periods (9% and 13.3%, 

respectively), there was apparently 

fewer park users. 

19 


Comparison of the public parks 

Table 2 presented the chi-square 

analyses of the public parks with the 

park users’ sex, age group, PA 

preferences and their day and time 

period preferences. According to the 

analysis, there were significant 

differences in the public parks by the 

park users’ sex, PA preferences and 

the day and time preferences (p < .05). 

However, the park users’ age group 

was not significantly different among 

the parks. 

Table-2 

Park users’ demographic characteristics and the use of the public parks 

for PA within a day and time periods 

Park A Park B Park C Total 

n % n % n % n % χ 2 df p 

Total 2287 73.3 323 10.4 509 16.3 3119 100 

Sex 8.12 2 .017* 

Women 1135 49.6 162 50.2 288 56.6 1585 50.8 

Men 1152 50.4 161 49.8 221 43.4 1534 49.2 

Age Group 5.79 6 .447 

Child 229 10.0 31 9.6 51 10.0 311 10.0 

Teen 263 11.5 29 9.0 49 9.6 341 10.9 

Adult 1519 66.4 228 70.6 358 70.3 2105 67.5 

Senior 276 12.1 35 10.8 51 10.0 362 11.6 

Physical Activity 57.64 2 .000* 

Walking 1771 77.4 282 87.3 462 90.8 2515 80.6 

Vigorous 516 22.6 41 12.7 47 9.2 604 19.4 

Days 97.11 12 .000* 

Monday 318 13.9 40 12.4 80 15.7 438 14.0 

Tuesday 402 17.6 49 15.2 115 22.6 566 18.1 

Wednesday 342 15.0 29 9.0 96 18.9 467 15.0 

Thursday 240 10.5 47 14.6 48 9.4 335 10.7 

Friday 252 11.0 39 12.1 18 3.5 309 9.9 

Saturday 330 14.4 64 19.8 113 22.2 507 16.3 

Sunday 403 17.6 55 17.0 39 7.7 497 15.9 

Time Periods 290.52 6 .000* 

Morning 837 36.6 106 32.8 193 37.9 1136 36.4 

Noon 278 12.2 4 1.2 0.0 0.0 282 9.0 

Afternoon 390 17.1 10 3.1 14 2.8 414 13.3 

Evening 782 34.2 203 62.8 302 59.3 1287 41.3 

* p < .05


Sex by public parks 

The chi-square analyses indicated 

that there was a statistically significant 

difference between the park users’ sex 

among the three public parks, χ 2 (2, 

3119) = 8.12, p < .05. More specifically, 

1135 (49.6%) of the Park A users were 

women, and 1152 (50.4%) of them 

were men. 162 (50.2%) of the Park B 

users were women, 161 (49.8%) of 

them were men. 288 (56.6%) of the 

Park C users were women, and 221 

(43.4%) of them were men. Overall, it 

can be inferred that there was a small 

but significant difference between 

women and men park users in favor of 

women by the public parks. These 

findings also indicated that suburban 

parks were preferred with more women 

as compared to men counterparts. 

Age group by public parks 

According to the chi-square 

analyses with age group and public 

parks, the results indicated no 

statistically significant difference 

between the public parks, χ 2 (6, 

3119) = 5.79, p = .45. Although the 

descriptive analyses indicated a 

higher percentage of adult park 

users; this difference was not 

statistically significant (See Table-2). 

Physical activity preferences by 

public parks 

The results indicated that there 

was a significant difference between 

the parks users’ PA preferences by 

public parks, χ 2 (2, 3119) = 57.64, p < 

.05. More specifically, in Park A, the 

20 

walking activity was more apparent 

(77.4%) than the vigorous activity 

(22.6%). Similar results were also 

seen in Park B (87.3% for walking 

and 12.7% for vigorous activity) and 

in Park C (90.8% for walking and 

9.2% for vigorous activity). 

Moreover, the Park C users were 

more frequently preferred walking 

activity than the Park B and Park A 

users. However, the Park A users 

were more frequently preferred the 

vigorous activity than the Park B 

and Park C users. 

Day preferences by public parks 

There was a significant differences 

in park users day preferences for 

PA, χ 2 (12, 3119) = 97.11, p < .05. In 

Park A, 13.9% of the park user 

attended PA on Monday, 17.6% of 

them on Tuesday, 15% of them on 

Wednesday, 10.5% of them on 

Thursday, 11% of them on Friday, 

14.4% of them on Saturday, and 

17.6% of them on Sunday. In Park B, 

12.4% of them on Monday, 15.2% of 

them on Tuesday, 9% of them on 


Thursday, 12.1% of them on Friday, 

19.8% of them on Saturday, and 17% 

of them on Sunday. In Park C, 15.7% 

of them on Monday, 22.6% of them 

on Tuesday, 18.9% of them on 


Thursday, 3.5% of them on Friday, 

22.2% of them on Saturday, and 7.7% 

of them on Sunday. Overall, the most 

frequently used days were Tuesday

and Sunday for Park A, Saturday and 

Sunday for Park B, and Tuesday and 

Saturday for Park C. It could be 

inferred that the weekends and one of 

the weekday (Tuesday) were mostly 

preferred days for attending public 

parks for PA participation. 

Time period preferences by public parks 

According to the chisquare analysis, 

there was a significant difference 

between the time period preferences 

of park users for PA by parks, χ 2 (6, 

3119) = 290.52, p < .05. More specifically, 

the evening time period was 

mostly preferred for PA participation 

in Park B (62.8%) and in Park C 

(59.3%), but not for Park A (34.2%). 

Although for Park A, there was 

slightly more park users in the 

morning time period (36.6%) than in 

evening time (34.2%); for Park B and 

Park C, the morning time period 

(32.8% and 37.9%, respectively) was 

less frequently used time period. 

However, the noon and afternoon 

time periods were apparently the least 

preferred time periods for each park. 

DISCUSSION 

In this study, three different 

public parks by their location, size 

and facilities were systematically 

observed for acquiring the public 

park users’ demographic variables 

and the public parks’ contextual 

information. The general results 

indicated that there were differences 

in three public parks in terms of the 

parks users’ demographic variables 

21 


including sex and PA preferences 

and of the public parks’ contextual 

information including the day and 

time period preference for PA by 

the park visitors. 

The general results indicated that 

the public park which is located in a 

more centralized location with a larger 

size and facilities was the most 

frequently used one. Among the other 

two suburban public parks, the 

number of park users in the medium 

size one was lower than those of the 

small size one. The medium size 

public park had poor PA facilities. 

Therefore, availability of PA facilities 

seems to be more important than the 

size of park. This result was consistent 

with a previous study (Kaczynski, 

Potwarka and Saelens, 2008). In this 

study, the authors reported the 

availability of park PA facilities as a 

good predictor of public park use for 

this purpose. Thus, it was reasonable 

to state that the public parks with 

good and/or structured facilities for 

PA participation should be needed for 

increasing PA participation. 

The current results on the park 

users’ sex showed that there was a 

slight difference between women and 

men park users for PA participation. 

More specifically, the small size 

suburban park with moderate 

facilities for PA participation was 

most frequently preferred by women 

park users. The controversial findings 

on the park users’ sex existed in the 

literature. Although there has been a


number of studies indicating the 

higher percentage of men public 

parks users for PA as compared to 

their women counterparts (Floyd et 

al., 2008; Reed et al., 2008; Shores and 

West, 2008), some earlier studies 

(Brownson, Housemann, Brown, 

Jackson-Thompson, King, Malone 

and Sallis, 2000; Mowen, Graefe and 

Williams, 1998) and a more recent 

study (Reed, Morrison and Arant, 

2009) have reported higher percenttage 

of women than men using the 

parks for PA. 

Although age groups were not 

significantly differed by the public 

parks, the total number of adult park 

users was higher in the current study. 

This result was consistent with the 

previous studies (Cohen et al., 2007; 

Shores and West, 2008). Most of these 

studies reported that mostly the adults 

were participating in PA in public 

parks. 

Our findings indicated that the 

most frequently performed PA was 

the walking activity in the public 

parks. It might be due to the fact that 

there were no organized activities for 

park users and also no facilities for 

team sports, except for the Park C. 

There were more park users 

participating in walking activity in 

Park C. However, in Park A, there 

were more park users participating in 

vigorous PA. This result indicated that 

for the park users participating in 

vigorous activity, more structured 

facilities for PA was required. It was 

22 

consistent with the study investigating 

the positive effect of providing 

structural improvements including 

restoring walking path and other 

facilities on the use of the public parks 

for PA participation (Tester and Baker, 

2009). Thus, it can be inferred that 

restructuring the public parks for 

better facilities for PA may be effective 

in promoting PA participation 

(Hoehner et, al., 2010). Because there 

were no organized activities and 

insufficient facilities for team sports, it 

can be recommended that there is a 

need to restructure the public parks 

for the promotion of PA participation. 

It was found that both the week 

days and weekends were preferred 

for PA participation in this study. 

As the data collection was 

conducted in a summer period and 

the temperature was very high, the 

park users mainly preferred the 

morning and also evening time 

periods for PA participation. Floyd 

et al. (2008) was also reported a 

similar trend. In their study, most of 

the park users preferred the 

morning time period and most of 

them used the walking path. 

In conclusion, this study revealed 

that PA characteristics of the park users 

and day and time period preferences of 

them for PA are changing by public 

parks location, size and facilities. This 

knowledge informs the park area 

planners, health promotion specialists, 

practitioners and the researchers to 

promote PA participation in the public

parks. Further studies should provide 

interventions for at-risk group 

including youth, older adults, girls, 

disabled people to promote PA 

participation in public parks (Librett, 

Henderson, Godbey and Morrow, 

2007; Reed et al., 2008). Another type of 

intervention can be the provision of 

organized and/or supervised activities 

in the public parks, which might be 

resulted in the increase of PA 

participation (Cohen et al., 2007; Mc- 

Kenzie et al., 2006). Besides these kinds 

of interventions, park proximity, park 

amenities and safety issues were also 

important predictors for PA participation 

in public parks (Cohen et al., 

2007). It was reasonable to suggest that 

building public parks near to the 

households may also result in many of 

the people be more physically active. 

Overall, from these current results, it 

can be recommended that parks should 

be well-structured to meet the needs of 

parks user for PA participation. 

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Saelens, B. E. (2008). Association of 

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H. (2008). A descriptive 

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(accessed August 30, 2010).

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH 

OSTEOPENIA: ASSOCIATIONS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED 

SATISFACTION AND MOTIVES FOR WELL-BEING 

Dr. Diane E. Mack, Katie E. Gunnell, Dr. Philip M. Wilson, Jenna D. Gilchrist, 

Kent C. Kowalski, Peter R. E. Crocker, Leah Ferguson and Jonathan D. Adachi 

ABSTRACT 

The purpose of this investigation was (a) to examine the association 

between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and motives for wellbeing 

and (b) to examine the potential role of perceived psychological 

need satisfaction (Deci & Ryan, 2002) in terms of the physical 

activity-motive for well-being relationship. Adopting a crosssectional 

design, participants (N = 142; Mage = 65.01 years; SDage = 

10.55 years) were individuals diagnosed with osteopenia who 

completed a self-report survey on a single occasion. Bivariate 

correlations indicated that LTPA was associated with motives for 

hedonic (r = .28) and eudaimonic (r = .35) well-being and 

psychological need satisfaction (r’s = .12 to .45). Multiple mediation 

analysis indicated perceived psychological need satisfaction mediated 

the LTPA– hedonic/eudaimonic motive relationship. The 95 percent 

bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence interval 

demonstrated that perceived competence and autonomy were the 

unique mediators. Collectively, results of this study support the 

relationship between physical activity and levels of 

hedonic/eudaimonic motives and that the satisfaction of basic 

psychological needs is a plausible mechanism underpinning such 

motivational orientations. 

INTRODUCTION 

Empirical evidence has supported 

the benefits of engaging in leisure 

time physical activity (LTPA) at a 

level commensurate with public 

health guidelines across a variety of 

biomedical (Bouchard, Blair & 

Haskell, 2007) and psychological (Fox 

& Wilson, 2008) outcomes. Despite 

established links between LPTA and 

various health indicators, prevalence 

data concerning LTPA behavior 

26 

internationally demonstrate that less 

than 50 percent of the population is 

considered sufficiently active for 

health benefits (Sisson & Katzmarzyk, 

2008) with rates declining in older 

adult populations (McGuire et al., 

2003). In an effort to understand the 

determinants of LTPA behavior, 

researchers have generally relied on 

theories of behavioral prediction 

(Fishbein et al., 2001) with modest 

success obtained in terms of

advancing our understanding 

(Baranowski, Anderson & Carmack, 

1998). For example, Tavares, 

Plotnikoff and Loucaides (2009) 

found that between 16 and 60 percent 

of variance in LTPA behavior in 

employed women was explained 

through different constructs (e.g., selfefficacy) 

embedded within varied 

socialcognitive theories. 

As one alternative to the behavioral 

prediction approach, Ekkekakis, 

Hall, and Petruzzello (2008) suggested 

targeting the motivational conesquences 

(or implications) of LTPA. 

While a considerable amount of 

literature has focused on motives (e.g., 

appearance, health and fitness, etc.) for 

engaging in physical activity 

(Ingledew & Markland, 2008), reasons 

for participation linked with wellbeing 

has received comparably little 

attention despite its logical links to 

initiation and adherence. Such a caveat 

in the physical activity literature is 

surprising for at least two reasons. 

First, a substantial body of evidence 

supports the link between engagement 

in regular LTPA and increased 

well-being, in addition to reduced illbeing 

(Dionigi, 2007; Fox et al., 2007). 

Second, improvements in well-being 

have been identified as the primary 

motivational force for engaging in 

LTPA for selected cohorts of the 

population (e.g., individuals living 

with Type 2 Diabetes; Ferrand, Perrin 

& Nasarre, 2008). 

27 


Two broad traditions seem worthy 

of consideration in an effort to 

understand the relationship between 

participation in LTPA and motives for 

well-being. Hedonic theory (Kahneman, 

1999) involves focusing on the 

outcomes (e.g., pleasure, entertainment) 

one expects to obtain from 

engaging in a target behavior 

(Cabanac & Bonniot-Cabanac, 2007). 

The maximization of experienced 

pleasure is a universal mechanism 

inherited within humans to motivate 

behavior (Cabanac, 1971) with 

activities aligned with physical 

pleasures (e.g., eating) and socialemotional 

pursuits (e.g., going to a 

party) consistent with the hedonic 

approach (Steger, Kashan & Oishi, 

2008). An emerging body of literature 

has generated support for the 

application of the pleasure-displeasure 

focus of hedonic theory to the 

investigation of acute bouts of LTPA 

(Backhouse et al., 2007; Ekkekakis et 

al., 2008) and subsequent physical 

activity adherence behavior over time 

(Williams et al., 2008). 

Complementing the hedonic 

approach is the conceptualization of wellbeing 

housed within the eudaimonic 

tradition (Waterman, Schwartz, & Conti 

2008), whereby the focus of motivational 

consequences shifts from the experience 

of pleasure to positive psychological 

functioning and optimization of human 

development. In accordance with the 

eudaimonic tradition, motivation is

Physical Activity in Individuals Living with Osteopenia: 

fostered when people engage in activities 

for reasons linked to positive goal 

pursuits that facilitate personal growth 

(Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008). The 

promotion of eudaimonic well-being has 

been linked to activities whereby effort 

(e.g., volunteering), challenging oneself 

(e.g., learning to play a new musical 

instrument), and engagement with 

others (e.g., expressing gratitude) are 

foundational requirements (Steger et al., 

2008; Seligman, 2002). Limited consideration 

of the eudaimonic tradition is 

evident in the physical activity literature, 

yet isolated studies with older adults 

indicate that LTPA must be perceived of 

as meaningful and have a sense of 

purpose to be adopted (Atachley, 1999; 

Grant, 2008; Nimrod & Kliber, 2007). 

Based on the above, principles stemming 

from the eudaimonic tradition may have 

motive-tional relevance when studying 

LTPA within select cohorts (Ryan et al., 

2008). 

Researchers have argued for the 

advancement of theory-driven research 

in contexts where LTPA is a focal topic 

of interest (Bauman et al., 2002) to 

facilitate an understand-ding of the 

mechanisms responsible for promoting 

(or thwarting) psy-chological outcomes 

(Acevedo & Ekkekakis, 2006). Self- 

Determi-nation Theory (SDT) (Deci & 

Ryan, 2002) has demonstrated utility 

for under-standing the motivational 

basis for LTPA (Wilson, Mack & 

Grattan, 2008). According to the SDT 

framework (Deci & Ryan, 2002), 

28 

humans are active growth-oriented 

organisms who innately strive to 

master challenges in their social 

environment in an effort to actualize 

their innate potentials (Deci & Ryan, 

2002). Deci and Ryan (2002) posit the 

existence of essential supports for 

motivation and wellness that manifest 

themselves in the form of basic 

psychological needs. Specifically, Deci 

and Ryan (2002) purport that the ongoing 

satisfaction of competence, 

autonomy and relatedness needs 

promote the motivation of behavior 

and optimize feelings of well-being 

(Deci & Ryan, 2002). The approach 

taken by Deci and Ryan (2002) within 

SDT is that basic psychological needs 

represent innate tendencies that when 

authentically satisfied exert univer-sally 

positive effects on growth, actualizetion, 

and well-being. 

This study contributes to, and 

extends, existing scientific literature 

through various means. First, the 

present study addresses previous 

recommendations in the literature (e.g., 

Ryan et al., 2008; Williams et al., 2008) to 

understand behaviors that engender 

hedonic/eudaimonic outcomes. In 

particular, while emerging studies have 

begun to identify the essential features 

that characterize a eudaimonic lifestyle 

(e.g., Seligman, 2002; Steger et al., 2008), 

considerable scope exists to consider 

other ‘target’ behaviors that may 

promote perceptions of personal 

growth, which is the defining feature

epresenting a eudaimonic orientation, 

to the study of motivation and wellbeing. 

Second, this study represents an 

initial attempt to consider basic 

psychological needs housed within SDT 

(Deci & Ryan, 2002) as a viable 

theoretical framework for explain-ing 

the relationship between LTPA and 

motives for well-being. Third, the 

sampling frame (i.e., individuals 

diagnosed with osteo-penia) repre-sents 

a known cohort whereby LTPA is 

promoted for con-dition management 

and represents those who are at risk for 

decreased psychological well-being 

(Sawka et al., 2005). 

The main purpose of this 

investigation was to examine the 

association between LTPA and motives 

for well-being that differ in their 

hedonic/eudaimonic orientation. A 

secondary purpose of this study was to 

examine the role of fulfilling basic 

psychological needs as a potential 

mediating influence connecting 

participation in LTPA with variation in 

and the endorsement of hedonic / 

eudaimonic motives. Given the 

evidencebase concerning the link 

between LTPA and well-being among 

older adults (e.g., Fox et al., 2007; Grant, 

2008), a positive relationship was 

hypothesized between engagement in 

LTPA and hedonic / eudaimonic 

motives for well-being. Extrapolating 

from Deci and Ryan’s (2002) 

contentions, it was further 

hypothesized that psychological need 

fulfillment would mediate the 

29 


relationship between LTPA and 

hedonic/eudaimonic motives for wellbeing. 

METHODS 

PARTICIPANTS 

Participants were 142 (nfemale = 

133) individuals with osteopenia 

(Mage = 65.01 years; SDage = 10.55 

years). Majority of participants 

reported their ethnic origin as 

Caucasian (88.00 percent) and were 

currently “married/common-law” 

(63.90 percent). Approximately half 

of the sample reported earning a 

university/college degree (47.20 

percent). Time since condition 

diagnosis was approximately 7 

years (M = 6.79 years; SD = 5.44) 

with 45.10 percent reporting a 

fracture in their lifetime. Body Mass 

Index (BMI) values calculated based 

on self-reported height and weight 

data indicated, on average that the 

participants were consistent with a 

“healthy” weight classification (M = 

24.19 kg/m 2; SD = 3.82; Health 

Canada, 2011). 

INSTRUMENTS 

Demographic and Health History: 

Participants provided self-reported 

information on gender, educational 

attainment, marital status, and 

ethnicity. Health variables relevant 

to condition diagnosis including 

BMI, fracture history, and family 

history of osteoporosis were also 

queried for descriptive purposes.


Leisure-time Physical Activity: The 

Godin Leisure-Time Exercise 

Questionnaire (LTEQ; Godin & 

Shephard, 1985) assessed the 

frequency of mild, moderate, and 

strenuous LTPA done for at least 15 

minutes per session during a typical 

week. An overall score (expressed in 

metabolic equivalent units or METS) 

was calculated by summing the 

weighted product of each LTEQ 

item using the following formula: 

∑([mild × 3] + [moderate × 5] + 

[strenuous × 9]). Construct validity 

evidence for scores derived from the 

LTEQ has been demonstrated 

(Jacobs et al., 1993). 

Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives 

for Activities (HEMA): The HEMA 

(Huta, 2005) was used to assess 

hedonic and eudaimonic motives in 

LTPA contexts. Given the focus of 

the present investigation on LTPA, 

the stem of the HEMA was 

modified slightly to reflect the 

contextual change. Following the 

instructional stem “To what degree 

do you typically approach your 

physical activity with each of the 

following intentions, whether or not 

you actually achieve your aim?’, 

participants were asked to rate the 

extent to which engagement in 

LTPA was associated with hedonic 

(4 items) and eudaimonic (4 items) 

motives. One sample item for 

hedonic motivation was “experiencing 

pleasure”. A sample item 

assessing eudaimonic motivation 

30 

was “pursuing excellence or a 

personal ideal”. Each HEMA item 

was rated on a Likert-type scale 

from ‘1’ (not at all) to ‘7’ (very 

much). Initial support for the 

structural validity and reliability of 

scores derived from items 

comprising the original HEMA has 

been documented (Huta, 2005). 

Psychological Needs: The Psychological 

Need Satisfaction in 

Exercise Scale (PNSE; Wilson et al., 

2006) was modified for use as an 

index of perceived psychological 

need satisfaction in LTPA contexts. 

Each item from the original PNSE 

was modified by replacing the term 

“exercise” with “physical activity”. 

Assessing each of the three 

psychological needs proposed by 

Deci and Ryan (2002) within the 

SDT framework, the 18-item PNSE 

is anchored by response options 

ranging from ‘1’ (False) to ‘6’ (True) 

with higher scores being reflective 

of greater fulfillment of each 

psychological need derived from 

engagement in LTPA. Construct 

validity of scores derived from the 

original PNSE (Cf. Wilson et al., 

2008) and a version of the PNSE 

modified for use in LTPA research 

forthcoming (Gunnell et al., in 

press). 

PROCEDURES 

Following institutional ethical 

clearance, participant recruitment 

adopted Dillman’s (2007) recom-

menddations for administering 

surveys. Participant referrals were 

made through one-to-one contact 

with a physician. Each participant 

was subsequently briefed about the 

study purpose, given unlimited 

opportunity to ask questions, and 

provided with study materials 

including informed consent. A selfaddressed 

stamped envelope was 

included along with explicit 

instructions on survey completion 

procedures and contact information 

should additional questions or 

concerns arise during the data 

collection phase of this study. Upon 

completion of the study, a $5.00 

donation was made on behalf of the 

participant to the bone health 

organization (e.g., Osteoporosis 

Canada) of their choice. 

DATA ANALYSIS 

Preliminary data analysis was 

conducted in order to identify data 

entry error, patterns of missing data, 

and compliance with relevant 

statistical assumptions. Descriptive 

statistics were calculated and 

estimates of internal consistency 

(Cronbach’s α; Cronbach, 1951) were 

computed to determine score 

reliability for responses to the HEMA 

and PNSE items. Pearson correlations 

(r) were calculated between LTEQ, 

HEMA, and PNSE subscale scores to 

determine patterns of bivariate 

association between these constructs. 

Confidence intervals were calculated 

31 


as an additional source of information 

complementing the r-point estimate 

related to null hypothesis testing. 

Finally, to test for mediation, 

bootstrapping analyses (k = 5000 

samples) using methods described by 

Preacher and Hayes (2007; 2008) for 

estimating direct and indirect effects 

with multiple mediators was 

conducted. Preacher and Hayes 

(2008) recommend that the absence of 

zero in the 95 percent bias corrected 

and accelerated confidence interval 

(BCa CI), rather than interpretation of 

p-values, serves as evidence for 

mediation in the bootstrap samples. 

Specific indirect effects and pairwise 

contrasts were examined through the 

use of BCa CI’s to examine the unique 

contribution and strength of each 

psychological need in the multiple 

mediator model analysis. 

RESULTS 

PRELIMINARY ANALYSES 

Inspection of sample data 

indicated minimal presence of nonresponse 

errors for items 

representing HEMA and PNSE 

scores for competence and 

autonomy, with no more than 1.30 

percent of the data missing on any 

item. Missing data were deemed 

nonrandom and replaced using a 

within-person mean substitution 

procedure (Hawthorne & Elliot, 

2005). Thirteen participants did not 

respond to any PNSE-relatedness


item suggestive that LTPA was 

engaged in as an individual pursuit 

as opposed to one with others. As a 

consequence, analyses incorporating 

the psychological need for 

relatedness were based on n = 129. 

Examination of the distributional 

properties (see Table 1) for all study 

variables, in combination with their 

respective standard error (SE) values 

(Tabachnick & Fiddell, 2007), 

demonstrated a pattern of nonnormal 

distributions for PNSE- 

Autonomy and PNSE-Relatedness 

scores, and HEMA responses for both 

hedonic and eudaimonic motives in 

this sample. Estimates of internal 

consistency score reliability (Cronbach, 

1951) ranged from 0.83 to 0.94 

(see Table 1 for specific values). 

Participants reported engaging 

in an average of 30.94 METS (SD = 

19.91) per week (see Table 1). 

Interpretation of LTEQ scores 

suggested individuals living with 

osteopenia were comparable to 

adults living with chronic 

conditions (Gunnell et al., in press; 

Motl & McAuley, 2009). Descriptive 

statistics for HEMA and PNSE 

scores fall above the theoretical 

midpoint with motives in LTPA 

contexts aligned with hedonic and 

eudaimonic traditions highly 

endorsed (see Table 1). The 

fulfillment of autonomy and 

relatedness was endorsed more 

strongly in the context of LTPA 

32 

behaviour than were perceptions of 

effectance and skill mastery 

characteristic of the psychological 

need for competence. 

Pearson correlations between 

study variables were in the 

hypothesized direction (see Table 1 

for specific values and confidence 

intervals). Interpretation of relationships 

demonstrated that LTEQ scores 

ranged from weak (i.e., r12 < |.20|) to 

moderate (i.e., r12 = .45) with PNSE 

and HEMA scores (Cohen, 1992). All 

Pearson correlations were statistically 

significant (p < .01; one-tailed 

significance), with the lone exception 

of LTEQ scores and fulfillment of the 

psychological need for relatedness in 

LTPA (r12 = 0.12; p = .08). A moderateto-strong 

(Cohen, 1992) positive 

correlation between HEMA subscales 

representing scores for hedonic and 

eudaimonic motives towards wellbeing 

was noted in this sample (see 

Table 1). 

Inspection of the results of the 

multiple mediator model examining 

LTEQ scores on hedonic motives for 

well-being through the three 

psychological needs was significant 

(R 2 adj = .29; F(4,123) = 14.04, p = 

.001). The total indirect effect 

through the three mediators was 

meaningful with a point estimate of 

.0107 (BCa CI’s ranged from 0037 to 

.0205; see Table 2). Perceived 

fulfillment of competence and 

autonomy served as the unique

mediators in this model, however 

interpretation of the pairwise 

contrasts indicated that the 

magnitude of each psychological 

need did not differ appreciably (i.e., 

BCa CI’s did not span zero). 

When examining the role of 

psychological need fulfillment on 

the LTEQ – eudaimonic motive 

relationship, the multiple mediator 

model was significant (R 2 adj = .36; 

F(4,123) = 18.88, p < .001). The point 

estimate for the total indirect effect 

through the three mediators was 

0.0107 and a corresponding BCa CI 

ranging from .0043 to .0186 in this 

sample. Consideration of the 

specific indirect effects evident in 

the multiple mediation analysis 

indicates that fulfillment of 

perceived competence and autonomy 

needs in LTPA were the 

unique mediators. However, interpretation 

of pairwise contrasts 

suggests that the magnitude of the 

effects for each psychological need 

was comparable in the LTEQ – 

eudaimonic motives for well-being 

relationship. 

DISCUSSION 

The main aim of the present study 

was to examine the link between 

LTPA and motives for well-being that 

vary in their hedonic versus 

eudaimonic focus. In addition, the 

secondary aim was to test the utility of 

SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2002) as a 

framework for understanding the 

33 


mechanisms via which engagement in 

regular LTPA impacts hedonic / 

eudaimonic motives for well-being. 

Overall, this investigation of adults 

living with osteopenia offers initial 

evidence for the link between greater 

LTPA and stronger endorsement of 

motives for well-being irrespective of 

their hedonic or eudaimonic 

orientation. Evidence from the 

multiple mediation analyses demonstrated 

the plausibility of basic 

psychological need fulfillment, 

especially perceptions of competence 

and autonomy, long championed by 

Deci and Ryan (2002) as viable 

pathways linking engagement in 

LTPA with both hedonic and 

eudaimonic motives for well-being. 

Observations reported in this 

study are largely consistent with 

those reported in previous research 

linking LTPA with constructs 

embedded in hedonic theory (e.g., 

Williams et al., 2008). The noted link 

between more frequent LTPA and 

stronger endorsement of eudaimonic 

motives for well-being evident at 

both the bivariate and multivariate 

levels of analyses extends the 

available literature considering 

different factors associated with a 

eudaimonic lifestyle to include LTPA 

(Ryan & Deci, 2002; Seligman, 2002; 

Steger et al., 2008). Joint consideration 

of the direction and absolute 

magnitude of the effect size evident 

between LTPA and motives for wellbeing 

(Cohen, 1992) in individuals


living with osteopenia suggests this 

health behavior contributes to 

fulfilling one’s human potentials and 

with pleasurable outcomes at 

ostensibly comparable levels. As 

hedonic pleasure is associated with a 

person’s well-being in the short term 

(Oishi, Schimmack, & Diener, 2001) 

and eudaimonic wellness associated 

with more enduring characteristics 

(Ryan et al., 2008), it seems logical to 

suggest that sustained LTPA holds 

promise as one means through which 

an individual may gain both short 

and long term benefits. 

Consistent with our original 

hypotheses and SDT (Deci & Ryan, 

2002), it appears that fulfilling the 

basic psychological needs for 

competence, autonomy, and 

relatedness in adults living with 

osteopenia mediates the impact of 

LTPA on motives for well-being that 

vary in their hedonic and eudaimonic 

focus. Closer inspection of the findings 

indicated that perceived competence 

appeared to be the most important 

psychological need satisfied via 

engagement in LTPA in terms of 

shaping motives for well-being. This 

observation has been previously noted 

in samples of exercisers free from 

known markers of disease (Wilson et 

al., 2008) and physically active adults 

living with chronic disease (Gunnell et 

al., in press). It seems reasonable to 

suggest on the basis of these 

observations encouraging people 

irrespective of health status to engage 

34 

in the mastery of challenging tasks 

that create a sense of effectance and 

competence may contribute to 

markers of well-being that are 

characterized by both hedonic 

pleasure and eudaimonic growth. 

Further evidence in support of 

our original hypotheses was found 

in terms of the role played by selfgovernance 

and volitional direction 

in the context of understanding the 

potential influence of LTPA on 

hedonic and eudaimonic motives 

for well-being in adults living with 

osteopenia. Such observations are 

consistent with SDT and Ryan et al. 

(2008) who asserted that feeling 

autonomous in any given context 

within life is a fundamental 

prerequisite to eudaimonic wellbeing. 

Interestingly, it was further 

noted in this study that perceiving 

oneself to be autonomous when 

engaged in LTPA was also linked 

with hedonic outcomes in the form 

of well-being motives characterized 

by features such as pleasurable 

sensations. Previous studies of 

adults engaged in various forms of 

structured exercise have noted 

comparable evidence (Wilson et al., 

2009). It remains unclear at this 

juncture why satisfying the need for 

autonomy via participating in LTPA 

would promote both hedonic and 


yet this remains an important 

agenda for future research to 

consider in greater depth.

Observations pertaining to the 

role of perceived relatedness in the 

context of LTPA noted in this study 

further contribute to the equivocal 

nature of research concerning this 

aspect of the SDT framework when 

applied to physical activity contexts 

(Edmunds et al., 2006; Wilson & 

Garcia Bengoechea, 2010; Wilson et 

al., 2003). It remains plausible that 

the centrality of perceived competence 

and autonomy to well-being 

outcomes in physically active 

humans (Ryan et al., 2008), 

combined with the knowledge that 

individuals can sustain motivation 

for individual activities without a 

network of meaningful connections 

to others (Ryan & Deci, 2002), may 

render fulfilling the need for 

relatedness as less important in the 

context of LTPA. It is also plausible 

that the research design used in this 

study masked potential contributions 

from relatedness to the 

criteria of interest. Other studies in 

structured exercise contexts using 

single time point designs have 

found that competence, and to a 

lesser extent autonomy, remain 

uniformly linked with motivational 

outcomes in a positive fashion 

(Edmunds et al., 2006; Wilson & 

Rogers, 2008). Alternatively, the 

limited number of longitudinal 

studies demonstrate considerable 

variability in the fulfillment of each 

psychological need as a function of 

time including perceived related- 

35 


ness (Edmunds et al., 2007; Wilson 

et al., 2003) that could easily render 

any psychological need (including 

perceived relatedness) more important 

at various time points than at 

others in terms of links with 

motivational outcomes and wellbeing 

criteria. It seems clear that 

arguing over the scope of influence 

attributable to any of the psychological 

needs espoused by Deci 

and Ryan (2002) within the 

framework of SDT especially 

perceived relatedness is largely 

premature at this juncture. Future 

studies using more sophisticated 

research designs will provide 

greater insight into the dynamic 

nature of ‘how’ and ‘why’ each 

psychological need central to SDT 

operates in the domain of LTPA 

especially in relation to the role of 

fluctuations in psychological need 

satisfaction across time in relation to 

variation in motivational and wellbeing 

outcomes. 

While the results of this study 

are novel and theoretically 

informative, a number of limitations 

should be acknowledged. First, 

extensive construct validation into 

the original (Huta, 2005) or 

modified HEMA adopted in the 

present investigation has not been 

undertaken. Additional construct 

validation research (Messick, 1995) 

is recommended to determine the 

meaningfulness of test score 

interpretation. Additional concerns


may be forwarded based on the 

degree of statistical overlap evident 

between dimensions of eudaimonic 

/ hedonic motives. While being 

associated at such a magnitude not 

uncommon in existing literature 

(Waterman et al., 2008), the task of 

demonstrating discriminant validity 

between constructs offers a unique 

challenge. As Telfer (1990) has 

suggested that eudaimonic activities 

are always associated with 

perceptions of pleasure (but not vice 

versa), the association between 

hedonic / eudaimonic motives 

should not be surprising and is 

deserved of empirical inquiry. 

Third, the data collected was 

restricted to a sample of individuals 

with osteopenia assessed on a single 

occasion. This approach limits the 

internal and external validity 

attributable to the interpretations 

advanced and suggests that more 

formal tests of mediation, adopting 

longitudinal designs, are warranted. 

In summary, the purpose of this 

study was (a) to examine the role of 

LTPA in relation to hedonic and 

eudaimonic motives for well-being, 

and (b) to test the importance of 

SDT-based psychological needs as a 

unifying framework for understanding 

how LTPA contributes to 

variation in motives for well-being 

characteristic of hedonia and 

eudaimonia. On the basis of this 

study, support for the positive 

relationship between LTPA and 

36 

endorsement of hedonic and 


was found. Additional evidence 

generated in this investigation 

suggests that satisfying basic 

psychological needs, especially for 

competence and autonomy, represent 

one plausible mechanism 

toward the promotion of hedonic / 

eudaimonic outcomes (Deci & Ryan, 

2002; Ryan, 1995). On the whole, the 

observations reported in this study 

support the beneficial role of 

participating in LTPA as a factor 

motivating well-being outcomes in 

adults living with a chronic disease. 

Further support for the utility of 

Deci and Ryan’s (2002) conceptuallization 

of psychological needs 

within SDT as a unifying 

framework for the study of wellbeing 

markers linked with LTPA is 

warranted. 

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Table-1 

Descriptive statistics, internal consistency, and correlation coefficients 

M SD Skew Kurt 1 2 3 4 5 6 

1. LTEQ 30.94 19.91 0.57 -0.60 -- 

2. PNSE- 3.94 1.25 -0.37 -0.49 .45 

Competence 

(.30 - .57) 

3. PNSE- 5.28 0.82 -1.36 2.28 .21 

Autonomy 

(.04 – .36) 

4. PNSE- 4.93 1.15 -1.30 1.47 .12 

Relatedness 

(-.05 – .29) 

5. HEMA: 5.40 1.40 -1.06 1.00 .28 

Hedonic 

(.12 - .42) 

6. HEMA 5.72 1.22 -0.94 0.13 .35 

Eudaimonic 

(.19 - .48) 

.92 

.22 

(.06 - .37) 

.32 

(.15 - .46) 

.29 

(.13 - .44) 

.46 

(.32 - .59) 

.92 

.23 

(.05 - .38) 

.39 

(.24 - .58) 

.39 

(.24 - .52) 

.94 

.44 

(.28 - .57) 

.47 

(.32 - .59) 

.85 

.67 

(.56 - .71) 

Note: M = Mean. SD = Standard Deviation. Skew. = Univariate Skewness. Kurt. = Univariate Kurtosis. LTEQ = 

Leisure-time exercise questionnaire; PNSE = Psychological Need Satisfaction in Exercise; HEMA: Hedonic and 

Eudaimonic Motives for Activities. Reliability estimates Cronbach’s (1951) coefficient alpha (α) are placed along the 

principal diagonal. Sample size for bivariate correlations range from 142 – 129 depending on participant responses. 

95% confidence intervals for each bivariate correlation can be found in parentheses. 

Table 2 

Bootstrapped indirect effects of change in LTPA on well-being 

motives through psychological need satisfaction 

Variable Point Estimate Bca CI R 2adj. 

Hedonic Motives 

Total .0107 .0037- .0207 .29 * 

PNSE – Competence .0056 .0009 - .0132 

PNSE – Autonomy .0032 .0005- .0092 

PNSE – Relatedness .0019 -.0011- .0067 

C1 .0024 -.0044 - .0105 

C2 .0037 -.0024 - .0116 

C3 .0012 -.0046 - .0064 

Eudaimonic Motives 

Total .0107 .0043- .0186 .36 * 

PNSE – Competence .0063 .0025- .0124 

PNSE – Autonomy .0027 .0004- .0078 

PNSE – Relatedness .0017 -.0010- .0057 

C1 .0036 -.0018 - .0102 

C2 .0045 -.0007 - .0110 

C3 .0010 -.0033 - .0057 

Note: Number of bootstrap resamples = 5000. Bca CI = Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals. PNSE = Psychological 

Need Satisfaction in Exercise C1 = contrast between competence and autonomy, C2 = contrast between competence and 

relatedness and C3 = contrast between autonomy and relatedness. 

*p = . 

.83

GENDER DIFFERENCES OF SELF CONFIDENCE IN SPORTS 

WITH REFERENCE TO PAKISTAN SOCIO CULTURAL 

FACTORS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN 

A. ABSTRACT 

Jamshaid Ahmed and Muhammad Akram Ansari 

The main purpose of the study was to examine the gender differences 

of self confidence in sport with reference to socio cultural factors 

associated with sports performance in Pakistan. Another purpose of 

the study was to examine and find out whether one psychosocial (self 

confidence) dimension exerted a stronger influence on gender. The 

analysis was administered to a sample of 300 (150 males and 150 

females) athletes aged 17 to 24 who participated sports at university, 

regional or national level in a variety of sports like cricket, hockey, 

basketball, table tennis, badminton and athletics. Each of the subject 

responded to a modified version of Trait Sports Confidence Inventory 

(Vealey, RS. (1986). An analysis of the results illustrated that 

significant difference existed between male and female player's self 

confidence in Pakistan due to the socioeconomic and socio cultural 

attitudes and conditions. 

B. INTRODUCTION 

Gender is one of the organizing 

principles of Pakistani society. 

Patriarchal value embedded in local 

traditions and culture predetermined 

the social value of gender. An 

artificial divide between production 

and reproduction, created by the 

ideology of sexual division of labor, 

has placed women in reproductive 

roles as mothers and wives in the 

private arena of home and men in a 

productive role as breadwinners in 

the public arena. This has led to a low 

level of resource investment in 

women by the family and the state. 

Thus, low investment in women's 

human capital, compounded by the 

42 

ideology of purdah (literally "veiled"), 

negative social biases, and cultural 

practices; the concept of honor linked 

with women's sexuality restrictions 

on women's mobility; and the 

internalization of patriarchy by 

women themselves, become, the basis 

for gender discrimination and 

disparities in all spheres of life. 

The status of women in Pakistan 

is not homogenous because of the 

interconnection of gender with 

other forms of exclusion in the 

society. There is considerable 

diversity in the status of women 

across classes, regions, and the 

rural/urban divide due to uneven 

socioeconomic development and the

impact of tribal, feudal, and 

capitalist social formations on 

women's lives. However, women's 

situation vis-à-vis man is one of 

systemic subordination, determined 

by the forces of patriarchy across 

classes, regions, and the rural / 

urban divide. 

Keeping in mind the gender 

differences in Pakistan we tried to 

evaluate these differences in sports 

setting and tried to compare the 

sports self confidence between two 

gender. 

Self-confidence has been viewed 

as some of the most important factor 

that influences the sport performance. 

Many studies had shown that athletes 

with high sport confidence would 

possess better concentration, game 

strate-gies, healthy emotions, control 

of tempos, and performance (Chi, 

1996; Mahoney, Gabriel & Perkin, 

1987). Therefore, the relationship 

between sport confidence and 

performance should be a critical topic 

for sport psychologists to investigate. 

Sport competition is a basic 

environment for pursuing excellence 

and performance (Duda, 

1987). How do athletes develop 

their confidence? The Achievement 

Goal Theory under the socialcognitive 

construct has gradually 

become a popular model for this 

research topic in the field of sport 

psychology. (Ames & Archer, 1988). 

43 


Earlier researches in the 

Achievement Goal Theory 

discovered that the task oriented 

climate would enhance the 

development of motivation and 

confidence (Duda, 1992). There is 

a relationship between goal 

orient-tation and sport confidence. 

Especially, the task orienttations 

of athletes are positively 

correlative to their sport confidence. 

In another words, if an 

athlete tends to emphasize skillacquisition 

(per-fection), and both 

learning and competitive processes, 

his / her sport confidence 

would be higher. Shane (2000) 

examined 620 high school and 

collegiate athletes of both genders 

to examine the relationship 

between goal orientation and 

sport confidence. The findings 

indicated that male and females 

athletes are significantly different 

in task orientation, ego orienttation, 

and several factors related 

to the source of sport confidence, 

such as skill perfection, demonstration 

of ability, and physiological 

/ psychological preparation. 

In addition, the per-ceived 

sources of sport confidence were 

different between high school and 

collegiate athletes of both 

genders. 

The present investigation 

sought to extend the previous 

research in this area and to 

increase our understanding of the

Gender Differences of Self Confidence in Sports 

reasons for gender participation in 

organized sports in Pakistani 

sports setup. However many 

questions remain only partially 

answered or unanswered altogether. 

What are the self confidence 

differences between the two 

genders in sports setting? To what 

degree do male and female 

athletes differ in self confidence 

level with each other? 

To study the gender differences 

of self confidence in Pakistan’s 

players, the researchers assumed 

that the self confidence will be 

different according to the gender of 

the player. 

300 (Total Sample) 

75 

Individual Sports 

75 

Team Sports 

44 

C. METHOD/Strategy 

1. Sample 

SAMPLE: Design 

A sample of 300 players (150 male 

and 150 female), was drawn through 

stratified randomly sampling from 

randomly selected universities, and 

departmental sports teams of Pakistan 

divided into two groups male/female. 

One hundred and fifty (n=150) male 

and the same number of female 

athletes. They were also sub-divided 

into two more groups like individual 

sport (n=75 and team sport (n=75) each 

group. Each male and female player 

was selected on the basis of his current 

performance and involvement in his / 

her particular sports by determining 

the current level of participation. 

150 (Male) 150 (Male) 

75 

Individual Sports 

75 

Team Sports

2. QUESTIONNAIRES 

Respondents completed a simplified 

version of the Trait Sports 

Confidence Inventory (Vealey, R.S. 

(1986). Before completing the 

questionnaires all subjects completed 

informed consent forms which 

informed them and their team 

managers of its purpose and how it 

was to be completed. Subjects 

responded the researcher by filling 

the “Trait Sports Confidence 

inventory” (TSCI) questionnaire 

designed by Vealey, R. S. (1986) to 

conceptualize sport-confidence and 

aggressive direction introductory 

examination and tool development. 

3. PROCEDURES 

Before the survey had taken place, 

coaches and trainers developed a good 

relationship with players, so they 

could understand players' practice and 

game schedules precisely. Before the 

survey was administered, the 

researchers had explained the content 

of the questionnaires to the players. 

Researchers had informed the players 

that their responses were submitted 

anonymously, and the information 

that was gathered was strictly 

confidential. It would take 30 minutes 

for players to fill out the Trait Sports 

Confidence Inventory. The TSCI 

contains 13 items that were placed in 

inventory format using a 9-point 

Likert scale. Participants were asked to 

indicate how confident they generally 

feel when competing in sport. When 

45 


responding, participants were asked to 

compare their confidence to the most 

confident athlete they know. For 

example, participants are asked to 

"compare your confidence in YOUR 

ABILITY TO ACHIEVE YOUR 

COMPETITIVE GOALS to the most 

confident athlete you know." Each 

player was asked to fill out the 

questionnaire carefully and tick one of 

the best options. After collecting the 

data, every individual player's options 

were computed to analyze the data by 

applying t-test. 

D. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA 

The t-test analyses indicated the 

differences in self confidence 

between male and female players. 

The test was used to compare the 

difference between genders. 

Male players had recorded higher 

scores in "Trait Sports Confidence 

Inventory" than female players did. 

Mean of male group is 102.24 and 

mean of female group is 90.01 and the 

SD of male group is 14.129 and SD of 

female group is 14.441. 

Hypothesis: 

There is no significant difference 

in the Confidence level of male and 

female player. 

Analysis of Problem 

1. H0: µ1 = µ2 

2. H1: µ1 ≠ µ2 

3. α = .05. 

4. Statistical test "t" 

Decision Rule: Reject H0 if t > 1.66

Trait 

Sports 

confidence 

Total 


Computation of the data 

Equal 

variances 

assumed 

Equal 

variances 

not assumed 

CONCLUSION 

Table shows that the tabulated value 

t = 1.66 which is less that the calculated 

value t = 7.412 at the level of significance 

a = 0.05. The hypothesis is therefore 

rejected and it is concluded that there is a 

significant difference between male and 

female players regarding their 

confidence level, in competitive sports. 

The male players were found to have 

higher self confidence level than the 

female counterpart. 

E. Summary 

Levene’s 

Test for 

Equality of 

Variances 

F 

Sig. 

In the social context, Pakistani 

women lack social value and status 

because of negation of their roles as 

producers and providers in all social 

roles. The preference of sons due to their 

productive role dictates the allocation of 

house hold resources in their favor. 

Male members of the family are given 

better education and sports facilities and 

are equipped with skills to compete for 

resources in the public arena, while 

female members are imparted domestic 

skills to be good mothers and wives. 

T 

.127 .72 *7.412 

df 

298 

46 

Independent Samples Test 

t-test for Equality of Means 

Sig. (2tailed) 

.000 

Mean 

Difference 

12.227 

Std. Error 

Difference 

1.650 

95% Confidence 

Interval of the 

Difference 

Lower Upper 

8.980 15.473 

*7.412 297.858 .000 12.227 1.650 8.980 15.473 

Lack of skills limited general/ sports 

opportunities in the job market, and 

social and cultural restrictions limited 

women's chances to compete with 

confidence for better results. This 

situation has led to the social and 

economic dependency a woman that 

becomes the basis for male power over 

women in all social relationships. 

However, the spread of patriarchy is 

not even. The nature and degree of 

women's oppression / subordination 

vary across classes, regions, and the rural 

/ urban divide. Patriarchal structures are 

relatively stronger in the rural and tribal 

setting where local customs establish 

male authority and power over women's 

lives. Women are exchanged, sold, and 

bought in marriages. They are given very 

limited opportunities to create choices for 

themselves in order to change the 

realities of their lives. On the other hand, 

women belonging to the upper and 

upper middle classes have more 

opportunities of education and employ-

ment than the women of middle and 

lower middle of the Pakistani society. 

The woman of the upper class has 

greater control over their lives than the 

rest of the classes. 

The most powerful aspect of 

social and cultural context is the 

internalization of patriarchal norms 

by men and women. In learning to be 

a woman in the society, women 

internalize the patriarchal ideology 

and play an instrumental role in 

transferring and recreating the gender 

ideology through the process of 

socialization of their children. The 

aspect of women's life has been 

largely ignored by the development 

initiatives in the country. 

With reference to the earlier 

conducted research, females have been 

stereotyped as biologically and 

physically inferior to men. This 

cultural notion has been passed on 

from one generation to another 

through school education, community, 

media, and parents, and accepted as a 

fact existing between men and women 

throughout the centuries (Crandall, 

1994; Eccles & Harold, 1991; Gould, 

1996). Gender stereotypes have 

pressured women and men to behave 

in certain ways in order to satisfy the 

expectations of society, which has 

limited female's involvement in 

physical activity and sports, especially 

activities that are vigorous in nature). 

The stereotypical view of female as 

inferior in sport is not as complex as 

47 


the assumption of racial superiority 

and the accompanying implication of 

intellectual inferiority. The view of 

female as inferior in sport may not 

necessarily be viewed as a negative 

attribute, given that it is so deeply 

ingrained in our culture. Rather, the 

view of women as less able in sport is 

consistent with societal expectations, 

so that women who are athletically 

gifted are at risk to be viewed as 

inappropriate. Athletic superiority 

runs counter to expectations, and for 

some females may actually constitute 

a negative image. 

The analytical results of the 

present investigation provide further 

support for the findings of a number 

of previous studies (Gill et al., 1983; & 

Gould et al., 1985). The purpose this 

investigation was to determine if 

differences existed between the male 

and female subjects in their self 

confidence level and the differences 

in the performance had on the two 

genders. 

The results indicated that male 

produced significantly greater self 

confidence level than the females. 

These results are consistent with 

Gill et al. (1983) study where male 

place greater importance on 

achievement and status than their 

counterparts. 

In relation to Pakistani women's 

participation in decision making, it is 

important to go beyond increasing 

numbers to enhancing women's voice in


shaping policies, resource allocations, 

and programme development and 

management. Women's access to 

promotion opportunities within sporting 

organization at all level should be 

assessed, and the types of support 

mechanism required to increase these 

opportunities should be identified and 

provided. 

Organizational change is particularly 

important, including 

changes to organizational cultures, 

values, norms, rules and procedures. 

Practical aspects organizational 

change can be critical to 

ensure women's full involvement, 

such as establishing appropriate 

meeting schedules and provision of 

childcare. Since the representation 

of women in Pakistani sporting 

organizations is currently low, men 

in leadership position have a major 

responsibility for promoting and 

sustaining the required standard of 

Pakistani women's sports participation. 

REFERENCES 

Ames, Carole, and Jennifer Archer. 

1988. “Achievement goals in the 

classroom: Students' Bibliography 

module: Ames and Archer 1988; 

In overview module 

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: 

Toward a unifying theory of 

behavioral change. Psychological 

Review, 84, 191-215. 

48 

Blais, M. R. (1995). Toward a new 

measure of intrinsic motivation, 

extrinsic motivation, and a 

motivation in sports: The Sport 

Motivation Scale (SMS). Journal 

of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 

17,35-53. 

Chi, L. K. (1996). Stress management 

of athletes. National Physical 

Education Quarterly, 25(4), 51-57. 

Chou, W. H.(1995). The establishment 

of sport confidence based on selfefficacy. 

National Physical 

Education Quarterly, 25(4), 62-69. 

Crandall, C.S. (1994). Prejudice 

against fat people-ideology and 

self interest-Journal of personality 

and social psychology, 66,882-894 

Duda, L.J. (1992): Motivation in sport 

settings: A goal perspective 

approach .In G.C. Roberts (Ed.), 

Motivation, and Sport and 

Exercise (pp.57-91). Champaign, 

Illinois: Human Kinetics. 

Duda, L.J. (1987). Toward a 

Developmental Theory of Children's 

Motivation in Sport. Journal of Sport 


Eccles, 1.S., & Harold, RD.(1991). 

Gender differences in sports 

involvement: Applying Eccles' 

expectancy-value model. Journal of 

applied sport psychology, 3, 7-35

Gill, D. L., Gross, J. B., & Huddleston, 

S. (1983). Participation motivation 

in youth sports. International 

Journal of Sport Psychology, 14, 

114-131. 

Gould, D., Feltz, D., & Weiss, M.R. 

(1985). Motives for participating 

in competitive youth swimming. 

International Journal of Sport 


Gould, S.J. (1996). The mis-measure 

of man (Rev. And Expanded). 

NY: Norton. 

Huang, C. R, Kuo, H. Y.(1999). The 

sources of athletes' sport 

confidence. The Chinese Physical 

Education, 13(3), 60-66. 

49 


Lrigg, C. D. (1991). Gender differences 

in self-confidence in physical 

activity: A meta analysis of recent 

studies. Journal of Sport & 

Exercise Psychology, 8,294-310. 

Mahoney, M.J., Gabriel, T.J., & 

Perkins, T.S. (1987). Psychological 

skills and exceptional athletic 

performance, TSP, 1, 181-199. 

Shane, S. (2000), "Prior knowledge and 

the discovery of entrepreneurial 

opportunities", Organization Science, 

Vol. 11 No.4, pp.448-69 

Vealey, R. S. (1986). Conceptualization 

of sport-confidence and competitive 

orientation Preliminary 

investigation and instrument 

development. Journal of Sport 

Psychology, 8, 221-246.

A MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURY PROFILE OF ATHLETES AT A 

NATIONAL INTER-UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEET IN MANIPAL, 

KARNATAKA, INDIA 

ABSTRACT 

Parachi Shah, Abraham Samuel Babu, Vaibhavi Satam, H.S. Ballal, 

Fiddy Davis and Arun G. Maiya 

Background: Sports physical therapists form a part of the team in all 

major sporting events. However, their presence at the university or 

recreational level is not commonly seen. The profile of injuries during 

an athletic event varies on whether the person is a recreational athlete 

or an elite athlete. As there is no data available from India on athletic 

injuries, we describe the profile of injuries at a national inter- 

university health sciences athletic meet. Methodology: During the 

inter university athletic meet, an analysis of the profile of injuries was 

done and the injured were classified according to the National Athletic 

Reporting System. Results: A total of 200 athletes took part in this 

competition. 32 (16%) athletes sustained injuries, of which 

musculoskeletal injuries were most common and accounted for 71.87% 

(23/32) of the total injuries. Most injuries were managed on the field 

without any loss of time except for four (viz., dislocated shoulder, heat 

exhaustion, injury of medial collateral ligament of knee and ankle 

lateral collateral ligament tear with avulsion injury) who required 

further attention in the hospital. Conclusion: We observed a high rate 

of injuries amongst the athletes, out of which musculoskeletal injuries, 

especially ankle injuries, were common during track and field events. 

Heat - related illnesses of varying degrees of severity were also seen. 

Keywords: Sports injury, Sports physical therapy, National athletic reporting system, Heat related illness 

INTRODUCTION 

Sport participation is no more 

just a leisure activity but rather an 

integral part of keeping oneself fit. 

Along with academic work, sport 

participation has been given 

importance since early schooling. 

Track and field events, a major 

aspect of athletics involving various 

distances of running, jumps and 

throws, are the earliest sport 

activities (Pendergraph, 2005). 

50 

Athletic events are challenging with 

respect to the various fitness 

parameters like speed, agility and 

power. 

Competitive sports range from 

participation at high-school to the 

university level. In India, the presence 

of a medical team at an inter 

university or lower level of 

competition is not commonly seen. 

Studies have shown that 80% of the 

injuries occurring on the field are

musculoskeletal in nature (Patel, 

2006). This highlights the importance 

of having a sports physical therapist 

on the field so as to decide on 

athletes’ sport fitness and help treat as 

well as to facilitate a faster return to 

the game (Rehberg, 2007). Studies 

that have reported injuries have been 

from major athletic events like the 

Olympics, wherein only elite athletes 

participate (Junge, 2009). However, 

injuries among the recreational 

athletic population or at junior levels, 

in which most college students 

participate, have hardly been studied 

in our country. As this group may not 

have adequate training like elite 

athletes, it is possible that they maybe 

at a greater risk of sustaining injuries 

during competitive events. Furthermore, 

there is a paucity of information 

regarding the profile of sports 

injuries in India. It was therefore 

decided that the reporting of injuries 

from such an event would help 

physical educators, sports organizers, 

physical therapists and athletes deal 

with injuries and prevent them 

during training and competition. We 

describe the profile of injuries among 

athletes who participated at a national 

inter-health university athletic meet at 

Manipal University, Manipal in 2009. 

METHODOLOGY 

An all India inter - health university 

athletic meet was held at Manipal 

University, Manipal, Karnataka, India 

for three days, i.e. 5 th – 7 th of December, 

2009. A total of 13 universities and 200 

51 


athletes from all over India participated 

in this event. The list of events on the 

three days has been provided in Table 

1. A medical stall was setup at the 

ground which was easily accessible to 

the athletes. It also gave the medical 

team a good view of all the events and 

thereby aided in analysis of the 

mechanism of injury. All the athletes 

were informed of the medical stall to 

which they were to report any injury. 

In events where a higher rate of injury 

was expected a physical therapist (PT) 

was present at the event site. 

An analysis of the profile of 

injuries was done for the duration of 

the athletic meet for all the injuries that 

were reported to the medical team. All 

the injuries were classified using the 

national athletic reporting system 

(NARS) (Patel, 2006). This included 

the following categories, viz., no time 

lost, minor (1-7 days lost), moderate 

(8-21 days lost), major (> 21 days) and 

severe (permanent disability). 

All injuries were attended to on 

the field by one of the physical 

therapists. Injured athletes were 

evaluated and diagnosed from a 

thorough clinical examination. 

Injured athletes were managed using 

the ‘PRICE’ protocol i.e., prevention, 

rest, ice, compression and elevation. 

In cases of ankle injuries, supportive 

taping was utilized to help in early 

return to the event. Taping to prevent 

secondary injury was also given to 

those athletes who approached the 

physiotherapists with a history of

A Musculoskeletal Injury Profile of Athletes 

chronic ankle injury. Taping for toes 

were done for athletes who preferred 

running barefoot. Stretching and icing 

were used to manage muscle cramps. 

This was also supplemented by 

giving them adequate hydration with 

oral rehydration solution and glucose. 

Cuts and bruises were cleaned and 

dressed using a sterile procedure. 

Return to the event was decided by 

the treating physical therapist based 

on the type and severity of the injury 

and also the athlete’s willingness and 

recovery stage. 

RESULTS 

A total of 200 athletes (83 women 

and 117 men) from 13 health 

universities all over India participated 

in the athletic meet (Table 2). The 

distribution of athletes with injuries as 

per the NARS is given in Table 3. 

There were 32 injured athletes out of 

which 3 had multiple injuries. 

Musculoskeletal injuries were a 

common occurrence (23/32) followed 

by abrasions and bruises (7/32) and 

systemic involvement, like heatrelated 

illnesses (2/32). The ankle and 

foot were the most commonly affected 

part observed with eight being acute 

injuries and six recurrent injuries. 

Events like long jump and triple jump 

had the most injuries (Table 4). Twelve 

athletes (6%) reported having muscle 

cramps of which two had recurrent 

episodes on all three days. Cramps 

were seen in most of the running 

events except the 10,000m race. 

52 

It was seen that 28 injured 

athletes were able to return to their 

event without losing time. 

However, four athletes (with heat 

exhaustion, anterior dislocation of 

shoulder, injury of the medial 

collateral ligament of knee and a 

lateral collateral ligament avulsion 

injury of the ankle) required 

hospitalization for further medical 

management. 

DISCUSSION 

Our study showed that 32/200 

(16%) were injured during the 

athletic meet. A report by Junge et 

al., (2009) described a rate of injuries 

of 11.3% among 2,132 elite athletes 

during athletic events. The higher 

rate seen here could be attributed to 

the level of conditioning of the 

athletes. Most athletes here were 

amateurs with only a few being elite. 

A high rate of return to 

participation, i.e., 28/35 (80%), seen in 

this athletic meet is indeed credible. 

These high rates show that a multidisciplinary 

medical team is to be 

present at all sporting events irrespective 

of their competitive level to help 

maintain a high rate of return to 

sporting event. Despite this high level of 

return to event, few cases still required 

further medical attention. Seven out of 

the 35 injured (20%) could not return to 

their event. This rate was higher than 

those found by Junge et al., (2009) 

wherein only 7.3% lost time due to 

injuries.

Three of the cases, who had a 

major type of injury with >21days 

lost as per the NARS classification 

(Table 3) are described here. The 

first was a case of an anterior 

shoulder dislocation following a fall 

by a 23-year old male in a 5000m 

run. The fall was on the elbow, 

100m from the start line. The 

shoulder was relocated on the field 

by the physical therapist using the 

modified Kocher’s technique, and 

he was then transported to hospital 

for an orthopaedic evaluation and 

radiographs. He was managed with 

immobilization and analgesics as 

prescribed by the orthopaedic 

surgeon. The second case was a 24year 

old male injured during the 

long jump. He had a history of left 

ankle instability and bilateral 

quadriceps strain for which 

adequate secondary injury 

prevention precautions were taken 

before the event. He sustained an 

inversion and plantar flexion injury 

with a popping sound. Examination 

of the ankle by the physical 

therapist revealed tenderness over 

the lateral collateral ligament 

insertion with swelling. A diagnosis 

of a complete lateral collateral 

ligament tear with the possibility of 

an avulsion fracture of the fibula 

was made. After appropriate first 

aid using the PRICE protocol, he 

was referred to a hospital for further 

evaluation and management. The xray 

of his ankle showed a fracture of 

53 


distal fibula. He was put on a 

posterior slab and was advised to 

engage in non-weight bearing 

walking with crutches for four 

weeks. The third athlete suddenly 

complained of medial knee pain 

after running 4,800m of 10,000m, 

forcing her to discontinue the race. 

On examination she had a localized 

swelling on the medial aspect of the 

knee with instability. Her knee was 

immobilized by using a Jones 

compression bandage and she was 

then shifted to the hospital with a 

diagnosis of medial collateral 

ligament injury for further 

investigation and management. As 

she was from another state, she was 

asked to rest and continue the 

bandaging. Symptomatic treatments 

with analgesics were given. 

We had two cases of heat 

exhaustion which are described 

here. The first, being a 23- year old 

male who presented with confusion, 

drowsiness and nausea at the end of 

the second day. He had a systolic 

blood pressure of 80mmHg. He had 

tachycardia and tachypnea. A 

history of no oral fluid intake 

during the day was given. The 

athlete had participated in two 

events (800m and 4x400m relay) 

earlier in the day and had not taken 

adequate rest or hydration. A 

working diagnosis of heat exhausttion 

and dehydration was made. Ice 

was applied to his body to cool him


down, as there was no facility for ice 

water immersion, and he was made 

to drink sips of water. When he 

showed no improvement, he was 

transported to hospital for further 

management. There he had a blood 

work up done and re-hydrated with 

fluid intravenously. There was 

another case of heat exhaustion to a 

19 - year old female who was 

managed on field. As she was stable 

as she did not require any form of 

advanced medical care. She was 

monitored regularly by the medical 

team to ensure adequate hydration 

and rest. She recovered completely 

with proper hydration. It was noted 

that athletes had their own views 

regarding hydration. Among those 

requiring medical attention, it was 

found that they believed water 

should not be taken prior to the 

event resulting in poor hydration 

status. Other factors that could have 

also contributed to the heat related 

illness are harsh environmental 

conditions, conditioning status of 

the athlete and prolonged participation 

in sports with continuous 

exposure to extreme heat. 

Muscle cramps were another 

common occurrence seen among 

athletes participating in running 

events. The heat and loss of body 

water could have predisposed them 

to cramps. Most of them were 

reported after 12:00 noon. Surprisingly, 

those who participated in 

the 10,000m run did not report any 

54 

cramps. This could be attributed to 

the timing of the events. The 

10,000m run was held at 6:30am 

while the other running events were 

held between 9am and 4pm. Also 

the athletes were participating in 

various events on consecutive days. 

Therefore emphasizing the role of 

replenishment of macronutrients, 

fluid and electrolyte imbalances that 

would have occurred after the event 

is very important to reduce the 

occurrence of cramps during 

subsequent events. However, these 

aspects seem to be neglected by 

many athletes and their coaches. 

Most participants who received 

medical help for musculoskeletal 

conditions reported the lack of a 

structured, regular training 

protocol. To the best of our 

knowledge, there were only three 

cases who had received a 

supervised training programme by 

a physical therapist prior to their 

participation in this athletic event. 

This shows that small number of 

athletes participate in post- injury 

rehabilitation. Therefore, awareness 

among the athletes regarding the 

importance of post- injury rehabilitation 

will have to be stressed. 

It was also observed that a few of 

them had inappropriate techniques in 

various running events (hurdles and 

sprints) which could have potentially 

contributed to their injury. Another 

contributing factor could also be the 

type of athletic footwear used for

these events. It was noted that 

athletes wore spikes and running 

shoes for their events whilst some of 

them preferred running barefooted. 

Even though these factors need to be 

considered they beyond the scope of 

this study. 

Our medical team consisted of 

four physical therapists, two doctors 

and one nurse with first aid kits and 

emergency equipment for advanced 

airway and cardiac life support. The 

physical therapists and doctors were 

trained in both basic as well as 

advanced cardiac life support. 

Subjective feelings of comfort were 

also reported by the athletes with the 

presence of an on field medical team. 

From the above findings, the 

authors wish to make the following 

recommendations: 

� Athletes and coaches need to be 

educated on the importance of 

adequate hydration and nutriation 

as well as their roles in 

health and sport performance. 

� Proper training techniques need to 

be emphasized with regard to long 

and triple jumps, and hurdles. 

� Athletes with recurrent injuries 

must seek proper rehabilitation 

from sports physical therapists 

� The presence of a medical team 

on site is imperative to manage 

acute injuries and heat related 

ailments. 

55 


CONCLUSION 

In this study, it was observed a 

high rate of injuries (16%), with 

majority being musculoskeletal in 

nature. Events in which most 

injuries occurred were the long 

jump, triple jump and hurdles. A 

good rate of return to participation 

was seen following acute management 

on field by the medical team 

and hence, their presence is of 

tremendous value to athletes. It is 

recommended that they be present 

for future events at various levels of 

competition. 

REFERENCES 

1. Junge A, Engebretsen L, 

Mountjoy ML, et al. Sports 

Injuries During the Summer 

Olympic Games 2008. Am J 

Sports Med 2009; 7:2165-2172 

2. Patel DR, Baker RJ. Musculoskeletal 

injuries in sports. Prim 

Care Clin Office Pract 2006; 

33:545-579 

3. Pendergraph B, Ko B, Zamora J, 

Bass E. Medical Coverage for 

Track and Field Events. Current 

Sports Medicine Reports 2005; 

4:150-153 

4. Rehberg RS. Sports Emergency 

Care: A Team Approach. NJ, 

USA. Slack Incorp. 2007: 23 – 24.


Total number of athletes, n 200 

Males, n (%) 

117 (58.5) 

Females, n (%) 

83 (41.5) 

Total number of athletes injured, n (%) 32 (16) 

Musculoskeletal injuries, n (%) 

23 (71.87) 

Abrasions and bruises, n (%) 

7 (21.87) 

Systemic involvement, n (%) 

2 (6.25) 

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 

1500 m £‡ 

100 m £‡ 

Javelin Throw £‡ 

Triple Jump £‡ 

Shot-put £ 

5000 m £‡ 

£ Men, ‡ Women 

Table-1: Demographic details of athletes 

Table-2: Daily list of events 

200 m £‡ 

800 m £‡ 

High Jump £‡ 

Shot-put ‡ 

4 x 400 m relay £‡ 

100 m hurdles ‡ 

110 m hurdles £ 

400 m hurdles £‡ 

Discus Throw £ 

56 

10,000 m £‡ 

Long jump £‡ 

Hammer throw £‡ 

400 m £‡ 

4 x 100 m £‡ 

Discus throw ‡ 

Table-3: Classification of injuries according to National Athletic 

Reporting System (NARS) 

Type of injury Number of injuries 

No time lost 28 

Minor (1 – 7 days lost) 3 

Moderate (8 – 21 days lost) 1 

Major ( > 21 days lost) 3 

Severe (Permanent Disability) 0 

TOTAL 35 

Table-4: Musculoskeletal injuries and the events in which they occurred 

EVENT INJURY NUMBER % 

Hammer throw Supraspinatus strain 

1 

2.86 

Partial biceps rupture 

1 

2.86 

Long Jump and Patellofemoral pain syndrome 

2 

5.71 

triple jump Quadriceps strain 

1 

2.86 

Achilles tendinopathy 

2 

5.71 

Lateral ligament avulsion fracture of ankle 

1 

2.86 

5000m Shoulder dislocation 

1 

2.86 

Peroneus tendinopathy 

1 

2.86 

10,000m Medial collateral ligament strain of knee 1 2.86 

800 m Tibialis posterior tendinopathy 1 2.86 

400m Acute ankle sprains 2 5.71 

100m hurdle Ankle soft tissue contusion 1 2.86 

110m hurdle Groin injury 

3 

8.57 

Shin splint 

1 

2.86 

4x100m relay Shin splint 

1 

2.86 

Chronic ankle sprain 

6 17.14

SPORT AS AN INSTITUTION FOR GENDER STEREOTYPE 

CHALLENGE AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: A REFLECTION 

ON NIGERIAN ELITE SPORTSWOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 

ABSTRACT 

Dr. Ifeanyichukwu C. Elendu and Dr. Tammy T. Orunaboka 

This paper is a documental research based on literary review on the role of sport in 

challenging gender stereotype and serving as an institution for women 

empowerment in Nigeria. Women are always looking for how to address certain 

social issues and problems that affect them. Women empowerment is a social issue 

which women all over the world are clamoring for. Women have initiated and are 

still initiating movements geared towards ensuring that they have control over their 

socio-economic and political lives. Women have adopted several strategies including 

education to ensure that they achieve their goals. One of the strategies that could be 

used for women empowerment is sports. Sport is an empowerment avenue for all. 

Sport has also challenged gender stereotype that women are weak and inferior in 

social organizations. Among the areas that reflect one's empowerment are physical, 

economic, and social lives of the individuals. Sport empowers its participants 

including women physically by enhancing their strength, endurance, flexibility, 

power, agility; economically through salaries, match allowances as officiating 

officials and match commissioners, endorsement fees, and socially through 

interpersonal relationships, self-efficacy, friendship, among others. Among the 

challenges facing women empowerment through sports in Nigeria that were 

discussed include sexual harassment of women in sports; poor media coverage of 

women in sports; inadequate, substandard, and poor condition of sports facilities 

and equipment for women; poor funding of women's sports; inadequate motivation 

of women in sports; societal negative attitude towards women participation in 

sports, among others. Recommendations were made to improve the sports 

atmosphere for women, which will ensure women's maximization of the 

opportunity of being empowered through sports. 

Keywords: Women empowerment, Sports, Gender stereotype. 

INTRODUCTION 

This paper is a documental 

research based on literary review of 

the role of sport in challenging gender 

stereotype and serving as an 

institution for women empowerment 

in Nigeria. The subdivisions of the 

paper are introduction, meaning of 

gender, stereotype and gender 

stereotype, gender stereotype and 

57 

sport, meaning of empowerment and 

women empowerment, levels of 

empowerment, and Nigerian elite 

sportswomen at the Olympics. The 

paper is equally subdivided into the 

role of sport in physical, social and 

economic empowerment of women, 

and problems confronting women 

empowerment through sports in 

Nigeria (poor media coverage of


women in sports; sexual harassment 

of women in sports; inadequate social 

support for women sports; gender 

inequity and inequality in sports 

leadership positions; inadequate, 

substandard, and poor condition of 

sports facilities and equipment for 

women; poor funding of women's 

sports; inadequate motivation of 

women in sports, and societal 

negative attitude towards women 

participation in sports). 

In a patriarchal society, gender 

dominance, discrimination and inequity 

are encouraged. Patriarchy 

relations manifest in heterosexual 

women’s economic dependence on 

men (Hartman, 1997). The worldwide 

women's movement over the past 

thirty years has emphasized that 

females be treated as human beings 

when they have opportunities to 

develop their intellectual and physical 

abilities (Fasting, 1996). Women's 

struggle for empowerment could be 

seen in their series of conferences, for 

instance, the fourth world women 

conference held in Beijing China, from 

4 - 15 September, 1995. 

Sports scholars like Nelson (1994), 

Kane (1998); Pohl, Borrie, and 

Patterson (2000) rightly observed that 

one issue concerning women and 

sport has been sports ability to 

deconstruct traditional gender 

stereotyping, norms, and behaviours 

through the empowerment of 

women. As Birrell and Richter (1987); 

58 

Hargreaves (1999), argued that sport 

is an oppressive activity instead of an 

empowering activity for individuals 

in the minority group (such as 

women), many sports scholars 

(Blinde, Taub, & Han, 1993; Blinde, 

Taub, & Han, 1994; Pohl, Borrie & 

Patterson, 2000) maintained that 

women personally can make sport or 

other physical activities a very 

empowering experience. 

Empowerment, according to 

Czuba and Nanette (1999) is a multidimensional 

social process that helps 

people gain control over their lives. 

Sport sociologists have affirmed sport 

as a tool for empowerment. Realizing 

the empowerment potentials of sport, 

Fasting (1996) noted that some 

women of all ages pursue their 

interest in sports. Sports, in sport 

sociology perspective, according to 

Coakley (1998), are institutionalized 

competitive activities that involve 

vigorous physical exertion or the use 

of relatively complex physical skills 

by individuals whose participations 

are motivated by combination of 

physical enjoyment and external 

rewards. Women always anchor on 

the outstanding performances of 

sportswomen at international 

competitions to contest and argue 

gender stereotype in the traditional 

society. Commenting on women 

sports performance, Dada (2005) 

stated that Nigerian women athletes 

have won more medals than their 

male counterparts. Women medal

profile at international sports competitions 

such as Olympics which 

challenges the gender stereotype 

where women are seen to be weak, 

independent, emotional, and noncompetitive. 

The feminist scholars advocate for 

empowerment in the personal 

qualities gained by women to aid in 

betterment of their lives at individual, 

group, and societal level. Personal or 

individual empowerment is a 

prerequisite for group and societal 

empowerment. Pensgaard and Sorensen 

(2002) noted that empowerment 

in sport has mostly been studied at the 

individual level. This could be because 

empowerment at individual level is 

foundation for empowerment at other 

levels. Even at the sports sector, 

individual sportsmen and women are 

empowered before the group and 

societal empowerment. Empowerment 

easily reflects on physical, 

economic, and social lives of 

individuals including women. Gibson 

(1991) noted that the development of 

qualities such as positive self-esteem, 

perceived competence, self-efficacy, an 

internal locus of control, personal 

satisfaction, a sense of connectedness, 

and an improved quality of life 

facilitate empowerment at the 

personal level. This paper therefore 

express how sports had challenged 

gender stereotype and discussed the 

role sports can play in physical, 

economic, and social empowerment of 

women in Nigeria. 

59 

Sport as an Institution for Gender Stereotype 

Meaning of Gender, Stereotype and 

Gender Stereotype 

According to Igbuzor (2006), 

gender is the socially and culturally 

constructed roles for men and 

women. Stereotype refers to a fixed 

idea or image that many people 

have of a particular type of person 

or thing, but which is often not true 

in reality (Hornby, 2005). Hence, 

gender stereotype is a fixed idea or 

image that people have about men 

or women which is not often true. It 

is the socio-cultural expectations 

from men and women in a given 

society. Highlighting the stereotypical 

expectations of men and 

women, Fiebert and Meyer (1997) 

stated that women are expected to 

be gentle, sensitive, emotional, and 

talkative; while men are to be 

competitive, independent, unemotional, 

and objective. 

The Nigerian society is not an 

exception in gender stereotyping. In 

the society, women are seen to be 

weak, incompetent, unskilled, 

unintelligent, too emotional, not 

objective for public social positions 

but only good at domestic activities 

in the family and home. Due to 

gender stereotyping, according to 

Tavris (1994) women have been 

known to feel inadequate, worthless, 

trapped, and overall have low 

self-esteems. This situation necessitated 

Nigerian women and their 

colleagues worldwide to strive


towards violating and disproving 

the societal norms. Nigerian 

women's popular saying that "what 

a man can do, woman can do it 

better" is geared towards showing 

that they are not weak and inferior 

even in the area of sports. 

Gender Stereotype and Sport 

In the sport context, societal 

norms are challenged and violated for 

women to be successful and 

empowered. Sport is an empowering 

institution for athletes irrespective of 

gender. Sport is a ground that has 

been used to disagree with the 

societal stereotyping norms as many 

women have gone outside the limits 

of the norms. Many women have 

proved to be objective, competitive, 

and independent at national and 

international sports competitions 

such as National sports festivals and 

Olympics. For an athlete (male or 

female) to be successful or 

empowered, certain traits, characteristics, 

and behaviours must be 

present. This is in line with Tuffey's 

(1995) statement that the characteristics 

of a successful athlete reflect 

the necessary characteristics of 

successful athlete, regardless of sex or 

gender. This is not far from Anshel 

(1994), and Cote and Salmela (1996) 

idea that to be a successful female 

athlete, it is necessary to possess the 

same traits, characteristics, and 

behaviours as male athlete. According 

to them, successful female athlete needs 

60 

to be aggressive, competitive, and 

confident, and so forth to be successful. 

There is a link between successfulness 

and empowerment. 

Sport experts (Blinde, Taub, & 

Han, 1993; Nelson, 1994) noted that 

stereotypes of women as less 

capable, less physically skilled, 

weak, helpless, and lack decision 

making skills that are necessary for 

organized physical activity lead 

many women to ignore sport or to 

believe that they were not 

physically able to participate. In 

sport, women were able to display, 

what at the time were considered 

inappropriate gender behaviours 

such as aggression, competitiveness, 

and independence. Women were 

allowed to sweat, get dirty, get hurt, 

be muscular and physically fit while 

participating in sport. Sport served 

as a place where women could 

transgress from the strict and rigid 

gender norms (Blinde, Taub & Han, 

1993; Kane 1998). 

Meaning of Empowerment and 

Women Empowerment 

The definitions of empowerment 

by scholars are different but related. 

Rappaport (1987) viewed empowerment 

as a process by which people 

gained mastery over their lives. 

Blinde, Taub and Han (1993) 

defined empowerment as the 

process by which individuals in a 

disadvantaged social group develop

skills and abilities to gain control 

over their lives and to take action to 

improve their life situation. 

Wallerstein and Bernstein (1988), 

and Gutierrez (1990) noted when an 

individual becomes empowered, he 

or she becomes proactive and takes 

personal responsibility in improving 

his or her life situation and 

wellbeing. In the context of this 

paper, empowerment is the social 

process of enabling women to 

discover, develop, and strengthen 

their skills and resources which are 

geared towards gaining power and 

control over their lives through 

sports. This paper also discusses 

women empowerment as the process 

of making women self-reliant, 

independent, confident, strongminded 

and have total control over 

their lives through sports. 

Levels of Empowerment 

Empowerment is a multi-level 

construct. According to Rappaport 

(1987), and Zimmerman and Rappaport 

(1988), empowerment occurs at 

individual or psychological, group, and 

community levels. Zimmerman and 

Rappaport, (1988) viewed psychological 

empowerment as the connection 

between a sense of personal 

competence, a desire for, and a 

willingness to take action, in the public 

domain. Individual empower-ment, 

according to Zimmerman (1995), 

comprises intrapersonal, interactional, 

and behavioural components. The 

61 


intrapersonal empowerment is how 

one sees himself or herself which 

manifests in a perceived control and 

self-efficacy, motivation to control, 

mastery, personality, cognitive, and 

motivational aspects of perceived 

control. The interactional empowerment 

provides a bridge between 

perceived control and taking action to 

exert control, encompassing how 

people think about and relate to their 

social environment. The behavioural 

component of individual empowerment 

refers to actions taken to directly 

influence outcomes in one's environment. 

Group empowerment refers 

to a group's perception of influence 

and control within a larger 

community (Wallerstein, 1992). This 

is a situation where the group may 

control the actions of members of 

the group. Bandura (1997) affirmed 

that a strong belief in a group's selfefficacy 

may override a weaker 

personal self-efficacy. Empowerment 

at the community level is 

connected with empowerment at 

the individual and organizational 

level (Wallerstein, 1992). Community 

empowerment (Bandura, 

1997) assumes that people strive for 

and desire political influence. Sherill 

(1998) explained that community 

empowerment represents a global 

structure, which focuses on the 

advancement of a certain group into 

positions of societal or political 

power in society.


Nigerian Elite Sportswomen at the 

Olympics 

History has it on records that 

Nigeria first participated in the 

Olympic Games in 1952 at Helsinki 

from July 19 - August 3. Women have 

been participating in Olympics and 

Nigerian women are not left out in 

Olympic history. For instance, the relay 

team of Beatrice Utondu, Christy 

Opara-Thompson, Mary Onyali, and 

Faith Idehen at 1992 Barcelona Game 

won bronze in 4 x 100 metres relay. In 

the 1996 Atlanta Games, Chioma 

Ajunwa won gold medal in long lump, 

and Olabisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf, 

Charity Opara, Falilat Ogunkoya won 

silver medal in 4 x 400 metres relay. In 

the same 1996 Atlanta, Mary Onyali 

won bronze medal in 200 metres, with 

Falilat Ogunkoya also winning bronze 

medal in 400 metres (Wikipedia 

Foundation, 2009). 

At Sydney in Australia 2000 

(Sept. 15th to Oct. 1st) Olympic 

Games, Ruth Ogbeifo won silver in 

weightlifting. In the same 2000 

Sydney Games, Glory Alozie made 

a record in 100 metres women 

hurdles by winning silver medal. In 

the records of 2008 Beijing Olympic 

Games, Blessing Okagbare had 

bronze medal to show for her 

participation in long jump, with 

Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, 

Halimat Ismalia, and Oludamola 

Osayomi who won bronze in 4 x 100 

metres relay. Olympics Games are 

highly competitive and for Nigerian 

62 

elite sportswomen to compete and won 

medals is a challenge to the societal 

assumption of women as weak, noncompetitive, 

and emotional. 

The Role of Sport in Physical 

Empowerment of Women 

Women who were traditionally 

perceived to be less capable, less 

physically skilled, helpless and 

weak (Nelson, 1994) are empowered 

through physical qualities, which 

are required for self control in one's 

daily living. Such physical values 

and attributes which sports could 

contribute to women sport participants 

include improved muscular 

strength, cardio-vascular endurance, 

cardiorespiratory endurance, agility, 

flexibility, power, improved reaction 

time, speed among others. 

Sport empowers women by developing 

their strength to run, walk, 

jump, to cater for their daily needs, 

and escape from dangers in the 

hostile environment. 

Researchers have reported that 

active sportswomen possess improved 

physical attributes (strength, 

endurance, flexibility, agility, speed, 

etc.) than inactive sportsmen. It is 

no doubt that for female athletes 

like Chioma Ajunwa, Blessing 

Okagbare, Glory Alozie, Mary 

Onyali, among others to make 

historic marks in Olympics, they 

must have been empowered with 

physical fitness attributes through 

sports.

The Role of Sport in Social Empowerment 

of Women 

Blinde, Taub, and Han (1994), 

Nelson (1994); Pohl, Borrie and 

Patterson (2000) noted that sport can 

serve as a social networking arena 

that allows women to come in 

contact with other women. 

Women's feeling of low self-esteem 

and inferiority in the past seems to 

have changed. Today, Nigerian 

women thrive and win medals in 

sport which demands competitiveness 

and aggressiveness. The self 

identity of female athletes has been 

improved in modern sports world. 

Sport has exposed women to 

establishing social relationship with 

other athletes, sport associations, 

sport officials, fans, spectators, sport 

managers and administrators. 

Theberge (1987) opined that 

traditionally, contact with other 

women has been limited, for most of 

the women's work has revolved 

around the family and home. The 

author further emphasized that both 

team and individual sports have 

provided women with the opportunity 

to come together and work 

together towards common goals. 

This simply means that sport has 

served as an extension of women 

social environment which was 

traditionally taken to be limited to 

the family and home. Sport mobility 

has made female athletes to tour 

many countries of the world to 

63 


interact with other social 

environments outside their homes. 

For instance, Nigerian elite female 

athletes have socialized themselves 

in Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and 

Beijing due to Olympic Games. 

Sport expands one's social environment. 

With sports, women who are 

in the past felt trapped, now feel 

free in their social relationships. 

With the view of athletes being 

agents of socialization, the social 

value of sportswomen increases. 

Many people, and corporate bodies 

or organizations establish friendship 

with sportswomen. Government 

also partner with sportsmen and 

sportswomen in inculcating right 

values to its citizen. They are now 

seen as agents of social change in 

the society. Elite sportswomen have 

had the opportunity of meeting 

with the presidents of nations of the 

world (Tavris, 1992). 

The Role of Sport in Economic 

Empowerment of Women 

Unless women's economic security 

is strengthened, it will be difficult to 

eliminate poverty, and achieve gender 

equality or realize genuine progress on 

the United Nation's Goals (Negash, 

2006). According to Negash (2006), 

increased income controlled by 

women gives them self-confidence, 

which helps them to obtain a voice 

and vote in household decisions, 

economic decisions, fertility decisions, 

and land use and conservation


decisions. Elite athletes including 

female athletes are sometimes 

rewarded with millions of dollars or 

pounds. They are paid endorsement 

fee for associating their names or 

performance with some products. 

Some manufacturers associate themselves 

with athletes to market and 

promote their products. For instance, 

sports wears, t-shirts are designed 

using an elite athlete's identity, 

thereby attracting endorsement fees 

for the athlete. Sport has contributed 

to economic empowerment of athletes 

and female athletes are not exempted. 

Women economic dependency 

on men may be ameliorated through 

sports. Athletes including female 

athletes are among the highest 

income earners in the world, thus 

portraying economic empowerment 

ability of sport. Sport as an 

international career has made it 

possible for elite female athletes to 

be paid with foreign currencies. 

Sportswomen receive financial 

allowances for competitions either 

from their nation, club side, team or 

association. Apart from getting 

economic and financial entitlement 

as a female athlete, other women 

assume positions in sports 

industries which economically empowered 

them. Sport positions like 

coaches, sport referees, sport 

organizing secretaries, sport marketers, 

sport analysts, sport officials, 

sport journalist (sport reporters, 

sport announcers or commentators), 

64 

workers in sport facilities, equipment 

and supplies manufacturing 

industries, are opportunities that 

have economically empowered individuals 

including women. 

Problems Confronting Women Empowerment 

through Sports in 

Nigeria 

A lot of problems confront 

women in sports and tend to 

discourage them from sharing with 

the empowering experience and 

potential of sports. The problems 

include: 

Poor media coverage of women in sports 

Media coverage of good performance 

of athletes is a way of 

motivating and marketing the 

athletes to the sports world. 

Athletes including female athletes 

feel more delighted to continue 

participating in sports. Sports information 

is made available to the 

public through print and electronic 

means of the media. There has been 

a difference in the way media 

personnel, and sports commentators 

report or speak about female 

athletes which are different from the 

way they report male athletes. The 

commentators attribute male 

athletes' outstanding performances 

as a mark of their athletic skills, 

overall dedication and remarkable 

amount of courage and that of the 

female athletes' performances to 

luck or the guidance of a strong 

male influence (Eastman & Billings,

1999; Eastman & Billings, 2000). 

Wensing and Bruce (2003) reported 

that there is less coverage of 

women's sports than their male 

counterparts. Male athletes are more 

glorified by media than the female 

athletes. In most cases, male athletes 

are praised and female athletes 

criticized. Women's sports are not 

given due coverage by the Nigerian 

media. A review of Nigerian 

national newspapers and magazines 

shows biasness and poor coverage 

of women sports, and this does not 

encourage women to continue their 

participation in sports. 

Sexual harassment of women in sports 

Sexual harassment is a violation 

of human rights. Sexual harassment 

is a social problem that thrives in 

every human organization 

including sports. Women are mostly 

the victims of sexual harassment 

which is often perpetrated by men. 

Supporting this, Elendu (2009) 

reported that southern Nigerian 

universities female athletes mostly 

experience sexual harassment, and 

is mostly perpetrated on them by 

male athletes, sports administrators, 

and spectators. This ugly experience 

of sexual harassment by women in 

the course of their participation in 

sport has made some of them to 

cease from participation. Sexual 

harassment of sportswomen has 

forced many women back to their 

homes, and never to engage in 

sports outside their homes. 

65 


Inadequate social support (parents, 

siblings, friends, peers, role models) 

for women sports 

Sportswomen expect support 

from their social environment. These 

sportswomen expect some encouragements 

and cheering from their 

parents, siblings, friends, peers. Some 

parents and other social groups with 

their negative attitude towards 

women participation in sports do not 

give these sportswomen their 

consent. This discourages sportswomen, 

as those who are already 

involved in sports may be left with no 

option other than to pull out, and 

those yet to participate cease to think 

about it. 

Gender inequity and inequality in 

sports leadership positions 

Sports leadership positions are 

dominated by men with very few 

women. Sports policies and decisions 

are taken by these leaders. 

More women are likely to be 

involved in sports when they see for 

instance retired elite sportswomen 

who serve as their role model in 

sports leadership position. The 

sports leadership positions are 

dominated by men. 

Inadequate, substandard, and poor 

condition of sports facilities and 

equipment for women 

Athletes need not just sports 

facilities and equipment, but adequate 

and standard ones that are in


good condition. Most of the available 

sports facilities and equipment are 

substandard, and in poor condition. 

Training with these facilities and 

equipment exposes athletes to a lot of 

injuries. Injuries as a result of poor 

condition of facilities and equipment 

scare some women from sports. On 

the other hand, men show their 

dominating power by driving women 

away from sports facilities when they 

(men) want to train. This embarrassment 

makes some women to retire 

from sports. 

Poor funding of women's sports 

Sports require huge amount of 

money for the payment of athletes', 

coaches' and officials' allowances, 

procurement of sports equipment, 

construction and maintenance of sports 

facilities. In Nigeria, women's sports do 

not attract financial support like their 

male counterparts both at national and 

international competitions. 

Inadequate motivation of women 

in sports 

Sportswomen are not properly 

motivated, as could lead to their 

drop-out in sports. This has earlier 

been expressed by Nikos, Anne- 

Marte, Chris, and Katie (2004) that 

lack of motivation in sports or 

exercise context will make 

individuals not to take part in 

sports. Motivation is needed for 

individual to participate or continue 

to participate in sports. 

66 

Societal negative attitude towards 

women participation in sports 

Though the societal negative 

attitude towards women participation 

in sports in Nigeria is 

gradually changing, but women's 

sports have not been given 

proper attention. Sports are still 

seen as a masculine activity. Most 

Nigerians still perceive sport as 

an activity that makes women 

muscular, affects a woman's 

menstruation, and other physiological 

changes that endangers 

the reproductiveness of women. 

The society expects women to 

concen-trate on child rearing, and 

other domestic activities than to 

be involved in sports. This does 

not encourage women who have 

interest in sports to participate. 

Conclusions and Recommendations 

Sport has challenged the 

gender stereotypical assumptions 

and expectations of the public. 

Women should consider using 

sport as one of their empowerment 

strategies as it has been 

affirmed to be an empowering 

experience. In order to sustain the 

empowering opportunities in 

sports for women and to encourage 

more women to participate, 

the following recom-mendations 

are made based on problems 

discussed on this paper facing 

women's sport in Nigeria.

1. There should be zero tolerance 

of sexual harassment of women 

in sports settings. Sexual 

harassment prevention policies 

should be made and implemented 

throughout the country. 

2. Adequate and standard sports 

facilities and equipment should 

be provided for women to use. 

3. There should be gender balance in 

appointment of leadership positions 

in sports. More women 

should be absorbed into the sports 

positions in Nigeria. They should 

be appointed as minister of youth 

and sports, commissioners of youth 

and sports, sports officials, match 

commissioners, sports analysts, 

sports reporters / commentators, 

referees, sports administrators, 

organizers, sport association secretaries, 

among others. 

4. There should adequate enlightennment 

programmes (campaign) 

for adequate social support of 

women in sports especially from the 

homes, offices, schools, peer groups, 

three tiers of government, private 

sectors, and individuals. 

5. The society should change their 

negative attitude towards women 

participation in sports. 

6. Sports programmes should 

always be organized for women 

at the grassroots levels. 

7. The mass media should always 

give wide coverage of women 

participation in sports. The mass 

media should not be bias while 

67 


covering sports irrespective of 

the gender. 

8. Proper and adequate motivation 

should be provided for women 

who participate in sports, such 

as cash rewards, scholarship, job 

offer, and recognition should be 

given to sportswomen. 

9. Sports enthusiasts should form nongovernmental 

sports organizations, 

and sports clubs for women. 

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CURRICULUM QUALITY AND ACADEMIC REPUTATION OF 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION COLLEGES IN HEALTH – FITNESS 

JOB MARKETING IN JORDAN 

Dr. Ahmed M. Al-Shishani, Dr. Akef M. Taifour and Dr. Aman S. Khasawneh 

ABSTRACT 

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of quality P.E 

curriculum that meets the standards of (ACSM) personal trainer 

certificate on the academic reputation of P.E graduates in Jordan in 

the health fitness job market as reflected by the owners and managers 

of 14 first class health fitness clubs in Jordan including fitness clubs 

in 5 star hotels which served as sample of the study. The samples 

were requested to answer a questionnaire that requested to rate the 

best P.E graduates qualified to work in the health fitness business. 

The results indicated that the Hashemite University is regarded as 

the best source of P.E graduates qualified to work in the fitness club 

industry compared to the rest of Jordan colleges as rated by 72 

percentages with a 66 percentage of employees in the 14 fitness club 

which served as sample of the health fitness job market. The 

Hashemite University is the only university in Jordan who adopted 

the content of (ACSM) personal trainer certificate study package 

which proves that the academic knowledge and skills of P.E 

graduates than other factors contributing to academic reputation 

such as history, size, and research activity. 

Key Words: ACSM: American College of Sports Medicine, PTC: Personal Trainer Certification in Sport Medicine, 

AHA: American Heart Association, KSA’S: Knowledge Skills and Abilities, ARC: American Red Cross, 

P E: Physical Education 

INTRODUCTION 

Academic reputation is a 

product of a number of interacting 

attributes of academic higher 

education institutions such as 

history, size, admission and graduation 

standards and research activity 

of faculty members. However, job 

market evaluation of college 

graduates is more practical criteria 

in reflecting academic reputation of 

higher education institutions. One 

of the emerging job markets in 

70 

Jordan and the Arab world is the 

business of the health fitness and 

weight management clubs and 

spa’s. In fact this job market is 

exclusively a physical education 

domain; after all, the motto of P.E 

colleges is within two philosophies, 

that is: (Ref 6,8) 

1. Educating the physical 

2. Educating through the physical 

However, health fitness job 

markets care less about the philosophy 

of teaching in colleges of physical

education that is: “either philosophy is 

accepted in the health fitness job 

market as long as the P.E major 

graduate is competent and capable in 

delivering the promised services to 

customers of health fitness job 

market”. (Ref 7) 

Yet, the traditional curriculum 

of colleges of physical education is 

heavily geared and organized 

towards teaching sport skills and 

stunts as a leisure or athletic 

activities in schools and athletic 

sport clubs more than teaching the 

academic knowledge and skills 

required in the health fitness and 

weight management clubs and 

centers. Thus, academic matching 

between job market criteria for 

competence in the health fitness 

industry and the curriculum taught 

to P.E majors will have a strong 

impact upon the academic 

reputation of PE graduates in the 

job market. (Ref 7,9) 

Competency standards in the health 

fitness job market 

Health fitness job market is a 

domain of sports medicine, thus, the 

ACSM is the highest academic 

authority in sports medicine and its 

position stand regarding competence 

criteria of health fitness clubs 

staff is the golden criteria to work 

(employment standards) in the 

health fitness job market (Ref 10). 

71 


In this regard, the ACSM offer 

certifications in two sport medicine 

tracks as follows: (Ref 4) 

1. The ACSM health and fitness track. 

2. The ACSM clinical track. 

The health fitness track is geared 

to work with people classified as 

being apparently healthy which 

means in short that they have no 

risk factors associated with any 

particular major chronic disease 

such as cardiovascular diseases, 

diabetes and hypertension. 

In this track, the ACSM offers 

three levels of certifications as 

follows arranged from the lowest 

level to highest level. (Ref 1,2,3,4) 

1. Personal trainer certificate (PTC). 

2. Health fitness instructor certificate. 

3. Health fitness director certificate. 

The PTC certificate is the 1997 

modified version of the exercise 

leader certificate of 1970’s. In the 

other hand, the ACSM clinical track 

is more involved in working with 

patients who already have major 

risk factors contributing to chronic 

diseases and /or actually suffered a 

heart attack or stroke and survived 

and need physical rehabilitation as 

part of the total medical rehabilitation 

program. 

In this regarded, the three levels 

of certificates in this track are as 

follows from the lowest to the 

highest level of certification.

Curriculum Quality and Academic Reputation 

1. ACSM exercise test technologist. 

2. ACSM exercise specialist. 

3. ACSM program director. 

The ACSM certification standards 

are promoted through ACSM'S 

publications and newsletters as the 

most rigorous in either track (Ref 5). 

Indeed, reputable Exercise physiologists 

consider the ACSM as the 

preeminent organization to offer certification 

programs and workshops for 

health fitness professionals (Ref 10). 

For the purpose of this study, a 

detailed description of ACSM personal 

trainer certificate will be provided. 

ACSM certified personal trainer 

certificate 

The ACSM certified personal 

trainer certificate is given to individuals 

who demonstrate competence in 

developing and implementing an 

individualized approach in exercise 

prescription for healthy populations 

and / or people with medical clearance 

to exercise. 

Using a variety of teaching 

techniques, the ACSM certified 

personal trainer is proficient in leading 

and demonstrating safe and effective 

methods of exercise by applying the 

fundamental principles of exercise 

science which demands academic 

knowledge relevant to writing and 

implementing appropriate exercise 

recommendations and demonstrate 

leadership in constructing safe and 

72 

effective exercise methods and 

motivation strategies to increase 

awareness and interest in perusing 

and adhering to Exercise programs 

and life style behavioral changes that 

increase the effectiveness of exercise 

for health purposes. 

Minimum requirements 

Minimum prerequisites for 

admission to the ACSM personal 

trainer certificate are as follows: 

1. A high school diploma or 

equivalent and 

2. Current adult CPR certification 

that has a practical skills 

examination component such as 

the American heart association 

(AHA) or the American Red 

Cross (ARC). Certificates. 

Recommended Competencies 

The ACSM standards of 

competence as personal trainer 

includes the following (Ref 5,9) 

Demonstrate competence in 

KSA'S required of the ACSM 

personal trainer as listed in the ACSM 

guide lines for exercise testing and 

prescription (5 th edition -2001) 

� Adequate knowledge of and skill 

in risk factor and health status 

identification, fitness appraisal, 

and exercise prescription. 

� Demonstrate ability to incorporate 

suitable and innovative activities

that will improve clients work and 

exercise capacity. 

� Demonstrate the ability to effectively 

educate and / or communicate with 

individual's regarding life style 

behavioral modification. 

Relevant studies 

Health fitness job market is 

rather new in Jordan and the Arab 

world. In fact, the Hashemite 

University is the only university so 

far which introduced a special P.E 

curriculum that complies with the 

ACSM standards required to be 

eligible for personal trainer 

certificate of the ACSM (PTCsm). 

Thus, similar studies are lacking 

and the only study relevant to this 

study was a study that investigated the 

effect of curriculum promotion in P.E 

colleges upon employment history of 

P.E major graduates in Jordan and the 

results of the study carried out by the 

same authors of this study indicated 

that quality P.E curriculum is decisive 

factor in increasing job opportunities of 

gra-duates to 87% (rang84-93) 

compared to 10% (range 7-17.9) for 

graduates of traditional P.E curriculum 

as described in this study. (Ref 6) 

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY 

The hypothesis of this study is as 

follows: matching between academic 

curriculum in physical education colleges 

with the knowledge and skills required 

in health fitness job market is an 

73 


independent and strongly instrumental 

in gaining academic reputation of higher 

education institutions in Jordan. 

SAMPLE AND PROCEDURES OF 

THE STUDY 

The sample of this study was 14 

private "first class" health fitness 

owners and managers in Amman 

the Capital of Jordan. 

The sample investigated represents 

the elite of health fitness and 

weight management centers in Jordan. 

STUDY DESIGN 

This study is a post facto study in 

which the independent variables of 

the study (novel curriculum) are 

introduced to one sample and the 

academic reputation of this sample is 

compared to academic reputation of 

similar groups who did not study the 

same curriculum (treatment). The 

novel curriculum was prepared 

according to ACSM’S competence 

criteria for personal trainer certificate. 

The curriculum was approved 

and implemented at the Hashemite 

University in the sport rehabilitation 

department of the college of physical 

education and movement sciences in 

the school year 1999-2000. Under the 

name of "sports rehabilitation" the 

curriculum, included courses covers 

basic athletic training concepts and 

applied skills in sports injuries 

prevention and treatment domain. 

Part of graduation requirements 

was to spend one full semester as 

internship in health fitness clubs and


this part of graduation requirements 

was the first awareness by health 

fitness owners and mangers with 

sports rehabili-tation specialization as a 

new area of study in physical education 

colleges in Jordan. 

ACADEMIC REPUTATION 

EVALUATION PROCEDURES 

In the academic year 2003-2004 the 

first graduate class completed graduation 

requirements and received a 

bachelor degree in sports rehabilitation. 

This study was undertaken in the 

academic year 2004-2005 after one year 

following graduation in which the job 

market of health fitness clubs received 

job applications from PE majors in the 4 

colleges of physical education including 

the sports rehabilitation graduates 

74 

Academic reputation of the PE 

major applicants in health fitness job 

market was investigated using a 

questionnaire method in which 

owners and mangers of 14 first class 

health fitness clubs in Amman were 

requested to evaluate the best 

source of PE graduates who 

demonstrate on-the-floor competence 

in delivering health fitness job 

market service among PE major 

graduates in Jordan. 

The questionnaire included data 

regarding the number and source of 

current staff employed in their 

private commercial fitness clubs and 

centers. (Appendix B shows the 

questionnaire format) 

Table-1 

Ranking of Jordanian universities from the best to the poorest source of 

graduates competent to work in the health fitness job market in Jordan 

from the stand point of the clubs managers 

No University name Number of votes Percentage 

1 Hashemite university 12 72% 

2 University of Jordan 2 28% 

3 Yarmouk university - - 

4 Mou”tah university - - 

Table (1) shows that the Hashemite university was ranked as the best 

source of P.E graduates competent in their on- the- job performance in health 

fitness job market with (72%) consensus (12 out of 14 )of health fitness clubs 

while the university of Jordan came second with the remaining (28%) consensus.

75 


Table-2 

Ranking of the best P.E specialization in Jordan universities that teach a 

curriculum compatible with knowledge and skills needed in the health 

fitness job market ordered from the best to the poorest curriculum 

No Name of 

specialization 

University name Number 

of vots 

percentage 

1 Sport rehabilitation Hashemite university 12 72% 

2 Coaching and 

administration 

- - - 

3 P.E teacher University of Jordan 2 28% 

Table (2) shows that regarding the best P.E specialization that qualifies 

students to work in the health fitness job market, the sports rehabilitation 

department at the Hashemite university was voted as the best P.E specialization 

fit to work in the health fitness job market according to 12 out of 14 respondent 

which makes (72%) of the total sample of health fitness clubs owners and mangers 

who answered the questionnaire. 

Table-3 

Employ and Staff sources number in the (14) health fitness job market 

sample of the study 

No Academic source 

Staff number 

Males Females Total percentage 

1 Hashemite university 29 27 56 66% 

2 University of Jordan 12 11 23 23% 

3 Yarmouk university 4 1 5 5% 

4 Mu’tah university - 1 1 1% 

Total 45 30 85 

Table (3) describes the data regarding the number of currently employed staff in 

the (14) health and fitness clubs job market.


As the table indicates, the sport 

rehabilitation department graduates 

of the Hashemite university constitute 

(66%) percent of health fitness 

staff employed in the (14) sample of 

fitness clubs investigated. 56 employees 

out of total of 85 are sports 

rehabilitation graduates (29 males 

and 27 females). The university of 

Jordan came second with a total of 

(23) employees (12 males and 11 

females) and Yarmouk university 

came in third place with (5) 

employees (4 males and 1 females) 

and finally came Mu’tah university 

with only one females employee. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The results of this study is in 

favor of accepting the major 

hypothesis on the basis of the data 

presented in tables 1,2,3 which clearly 

indicate superiority of sports 

rehabilitation graduates in the health 

fitness job market compared to 

graduates of traditional graduates of 

P.E colleges in Jordan despite the fact 

that the Hashemite University is the 

newest university in Jordan and the 

smallest student enrollment wise. 

DISCUSSION 

The result of this study is in 

favor of the hypothesis that 

emphasize the importance of the 

curriculum in physical education 

colleges and department as a major 

attribute that confer academic 

reputation to the universities and 

colleges in the health fitness job 

76 

market aside from other aspects and 

attributes of academic reputation of 

higher education institutions. 

The logical explanation for the 

results of this study is in the fact 

that private business is more 

concerned with academic knowledge, 

skills and abilities (KSA) of 

their staff that will enhance the 

delivery of high – quality programs 

that satisfy its clients. After all, 

clients’ satisfaction is the essence of 

business market including health 

fitness job market. 

One distinguished innovation in 

the staff employment in the College of 

Physical Education at the Hashemite 

University is the recruitment of two 

graduates of medical colleges to teach 

the medical content of sports 

rehabilitation curriculum. One MD was 

a family physician with a master 

degree in medicine; the other MD was 

an orthopedic (master degree). 

Thus, the faculties in charge of 

implementing the sport rehabilitation 

curriculum were a perfect blend of 

exercise science experts, and medical 

experts. Consequently, the concept of 

exercise–health connection was translated 

to reality faculty wise in sports 

rehabilitation department which in 

turn contributed to the results of this 

study. After all, the concept of exercise 

– health conne-ction is the academic 

background for the emergence of 

health fitness job market in the united 

state and the rest of health conscious 

societies of the world. (Ref1,2,3,4)

RECOMMENDATION 

Based on the results of the study 

the following recommendations are 

suggested: 

1. Higher education institutions 

must keep abreast with changing 

job market demands regarding 

the KSA of graduates irrespective 

of academic specialization. KSA 

of graduates in their particular 

academic domain is what counts 

in the job market when it comes 

to academic reputation of higher 

education institutions as this 

study concluded. 

2. Colleges of physical education are 

invited to follow the model of the 

Hashemite University in developing 

a curriculum compatible 

with job market demands to 

increase employment opportunities 

of its graduates. 

3. Medical doctors should be 

encouraged to join teaching 

faculty in colleges of physical 

education to add medical 

knowledge relevant to exercise 

prescription and precautions in 

the health fitness job market to 

prevent any liability cases in this 

blooming job market. 

4. Feed back seminars with 

graduates, manager, and owners 

of the health clubs to modify the 

present curriculum in the 

Physical Education College and 

departments, is highly needed. 

77 


REFERENCES 

1. ACSM. (1994). Exercise Leader 

Workshop Study Packet. 

2. ACSM. (1995). Guide Lines for Exercise 

Testing and Prescription, 6th edition. 

3. ACSM. (1999). Health Fitness 

Instructor Study Packet. 

4. ACSM. (2000). Guide Lines for 

Exercise Testing and Prescription, 

5th edition. 

5. ACSM.(2001). Health and Fitness 

Certification Review. 

6. Adams. W. C. (1991). Foundation 

of Physical Education and Sport 

Science, Lea & Febiger, UK. 

7. Adel, A. Taifour. A, and Khasawenh. 

A. (2010). The Effect of Quality 

Physical Education Curriculum on 

Job Market Opportunities for 

Graduates: The Hashemite University 

Model, Unpublished yet. 

8. Golding, L.A. (2000). From the 

Editor: Physical Education, 

Kinesiology, Exercise Science, What 

is in a Name? ACSM Health 

Fitness Journal. Vol.4, No. 4.p1. 

9. Bucher, C.A. (1983). Administration 

of Physical Education and Athletic 

Programs. (8th Edition), the C.V 

Mosby Company. 

10. McArdel, W. Katch. F, and Katch.V 

(2007) Exercise Physiology: Energy, 

Nutrition, and Human Performance. 

(6 th Edition) p 927. Lippincott 

Williams & Wilkins. 

11. Patton .R.W. (1999). Evaluation of the 

Health and Fitness Industry is Increasing: 

Here is a Good Assessment Tool, ACSM 

Health Fitness Journal, Jan- Fab. p. 40-41.

PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF TRAINED WEIGHTLIFTERS 

ABSTRACT 

Bhavana S. Masale and Vijay A. Sawant 

Weightlifting is one of the major sports in India. In the present 

study, men and women weightlifters of state and national level 

category (55 men and 35 women) have been studied considering 

anthropometric variables such as height, weight, skin fold along with 

other physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, 

cardiovascular efficiency, etc. The study revealed that stature of 

athlete plays crucial role in the performance of the athlete. The 

changes in the values of various physiological variables have found to 

be significant 

Key words: Weightlifting; cardiovascular efficiency; aerobic strength and power; sport physiology. 

INTRODUCTION 

Weightlifting is a major sport in 

India. It is one of the oldest games. 

Physical strength plays a vital role 

in weightlifting. In fact, weight 

training is an integral part of many 

resistances training program of 

athletes as well as non-athletes as a 

part of an exercise regimen. Many 

sport scientists, Malhotra et al 

(1084), Ghosh et al. (1983), Khanna 

et al. (1983) have carried out studies 

on body composition, static strength 

and cardiovascular efficiency in 

terms of aerobic capacity on Indian 

national sportsmen. 

Venkateshshwarulu et al (1990) 

have studied relationship of muscle 

mass and fat mass to strength on 

national and international 

weightlifters and wrestlers. Devi 

Sarojini (2006) has recently done a 

comparative study of variations in 

78 

physical structures of the Meitei 

women weightlifters and control 

group of non-athlete women. Byrd et 

al (2003) reported longitudinal data 

over approximately two years in 

children training and competing in 

weightlifting. Performance improved 

in these children, who participated in 

an average of eight competitions. Fry 

et al (2003) carried study on muscle 

fiber characteristics and performance 

correlates of male Olympic-style 

weightlifters. However, the data on 

body composition, efficiency of 

physically trained weightlifters, who 

had participated into various local 

weightlifting competitions, is scanty. 

The importance of scientific 

theory in the design of training and 

coaching program was the motivetional 

force behind the present study. 

Attempts have been made to 

determine the level of physical fitness 

of trained weightlifters, who had

participated at least to the university 

level weightlifting com-petitions by 

performing simple tests. 

MATERIAL AND METHODS 

The samples of the present 

study consists of 53 male and 35 

female trained weightlifters, classified 

into two cate-gories, viz. 

national level and state level 

according to their involvement in 

sport events or competitions. The 

weightlifters under training from 

various training centers of western 

Maharashtra (India) volunteered 

themselves for the present study. 

Total of six (6) anthropometric 

measurements were collected from each 

individual following the norms of 

Weiner and Lourie (1969). The 

anthropometric measurements are body 

weight, standing height, and skinfolds 

at four sites i.e. Biceps, Triceps, supraliac 

and subscapular. The skinfolds 

measurements were recorded with help 

of skinfold caliper. The body density 

and fat percentage were calculated by 

formulae of Durnin and Rahaman 

(1966); Siri (1961) respectively. 

Parameter 

Table -1 

Weightlifting: Body Composition 

79 


The cardiovascular efficiency was 

determined by Harvard’s modified step 

test method. The measurements of grip 

strength were recorded by using grip 

dynamometer for both right and left 

hands. The blood pressures of the 

weightlifters were recorded by 

‘Sphygmomanometer’ before exercise 

and after exercise. The lung function test 

was carried out by using peak flow 

meter. Statistical constants such as 

mean, standard deviation (S.D.), 

standard error of mean (S.E.) of each 

variable were calculated. The t-test was 

applied for bi-variate comparison of the 

two groups. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

The weightlifters were separated 

into two groups on the basis of their 

involvement in the events or 

competitions with help of professional 

experts (coaches).The physical characteristics 

of the weightlifters are presented 

in table-2. Mean age of the 

subjects was 17.8 yrs and 19.43 yrs for 

state and national level respectively 

with little variation. Very low 

variation in age indicates that the 

sample of subjects under study was a 

homogeneous group. 

Men Women 

State Level National Level State Level National Level 

Age (yrs) 17.8 ± 1.9 19.43 ± 1.35 18.67 ± 3.67 18.85 ± 1.46 

Height (cm) 161.4 ± 9.2 164.72 ± 6.86 155.6 ± 5.2 155.15 ± 7.30 

Weight (kg) 68.4 ± 21.6 67.08 ± 18.03 56.5 ± 12.3 56.04 ± 8.29

Physiological Profile of Trained Weightlifters 

The static heart rates of the 

weightlifters were measured 

immediately after a bout of exercise. 

It was observed that heart rate 

increase but the quantities by which 

it increases for state and national 

level and also for men and women 

weightlifters were quite significant, 

which may be due regular exercise. 

The peak expiratory flow rate values 

for all categories of weightlifters 

were found to be higher than the 

standard values which indicates that 

weightlifters were having very good 

lung capacity. Huy Phun (2006) 

have reported that during resistive 

challenge such as weightlifting, 

Table-2: Muscular Strength and Power 

Parameter Men Women 

Grip Strength State Level National Level State Level National Level 

Vertical Right 32.3 ± 13.3 56.93 ± 10.10 26.87 ± 4.22 41.30 ± 5.36 

Left 29.2 ± 12.2 54.30 ± 8.85 25.20 ± 6.44 39.45 ± 5.27 

t-value 0.82 0.76 0.84 1.10 

Horizontal Right 32.1 ± 12.3 51.83 ± 10.06 24.73 ± 3.92 40.30 ± 5.22 

Left 32.3 ± 11.0 49.48 ± 9.26 24.00 ± 3.36 38.05 ± 5.11 

t-value -0.06 0.67 0.55 1.38 

Grip strength of the weightlifters is exhibited in the table-2. Mean vertical grip strength of national 

level male weightlifters was 56.93 kg and 54.30 kg for right and left hands respectively, but when it was 

measured in horizontally corresponding values were decreased. The difference between right and left 

hand grip is not statistically significant but the difference between the grip strengths of state and 

national weightlifters has clearly seen to be significant. 

Table-3: Aerobic Capacity 

Parameter 

Men Women 

State Level National Level State Level National Level 

Max. Heart Rate 

(b. p. m) 

112.20 ± 10.80 103.90 ± 5.35 93.93 ± 10.55 106.90 ± 5.98 

P.E.F.R. 493.3 ± 93.00 514.00 ± 61.80 400.70 ± 36.10 434.8 ± 38.30 

Systolic B.P. 140 .60 ± 8.00 141.77 ± 4.13 119.53 ± 7.39 139.40 ± 4.76 

Diastolic B.P. 86.80 ± 5.30 84.00 ± 3.75 79.73 ± 6.31 86.20 ± 3.19 

80 

there are marked changes in BP 

which rapidly abate once the 

challenge is discontinued. In the 

present study, it has been observed 

that both systolic and diastolic B.P. 

increased from baseline mean of 

117 ± 11 mm Hg to various 

quantities with maximum of 

141.77±4.13 mmHg for national 

level male weightlifters. 

According to the classification of 

Brouha (1943), the cardiovascular 

efficiency of the weightlifters, as measured 

by Harvard’s modified step test 

was found to be of good category for 

national male weightlifters and for 

others it was of high averages category.

Parameter 

Fitness Score 

( Harvard step Test) 

Table-4 

Anaerobic Capacity 

State Level 

74.70 ± 9.10 

81 


Men Women 

National 

Level 

87.07 ± 8.06 

State Level 

70.28 ± 7.41 

National 

Level 

76.94 ± 6.71 

Table-5 and 6 exhibits body composition of men and women 

weightlifters. The mean values of percent body fat, total body fat 

and lean body mass determined from the skin fold measurements. 

The difference between national level and state level male and female 

weightlifters for each of these three components are not significant 

except for lean body mass of national level male weightlifters. 

Table-5 

Distribution of Mean, S.D. and t-values for Body composition of 

Male Weightlifters 

Sr. 

State Level National Level 

No. Component Mean S.D. Mean S.D. t-value 

1 Fat Percent 21.56 4.5 20.75 3.75 0.56 

2 Total Body Fat (kg) 13.97 2.5 13.92 3 0.05 

3 Lean Body Mass(kg) 50.83 2.95 53.16 3.75 -1.93* 

* P < 0.05 statistically significant. 

Table-6 

Distribution of Mean, S.D. and t-values for Body composition of 

Female Weightlifters 

Sr. 

State Level National Level 

No. Component Mean S.D. Mean S.D. t-value 

1 Fat Percent 24.55 5.45 23.15 4.65 0.79 

2 Total Body Fat (kg) 13.87 10.2 12.97 8.5 0.28 

3 Lean Body Mass(kg) 42.63 9.5 43.07 7.88 -0.14

Physiological Profile of Trained Weightlifters 

REFERENCES 

1. Astrand P. O. and Rodahl K.: 

Textbook of Work Physiology: 

Physiological Bases of Exercise, 

Third Edition, McGraw-Hill 

Book Co., Singapore. (1986) 

2. Brouha, L.: The step test: A simple 

method for measuring physical 

fitness for muscular work in 

youngmen, Res. Quart. 14 (1), 

pp-31-36 (1943) 

3. Byrd, R., K. Pierce, L. Rielly, and 

J. Brady: Young Weightlifters’ 

Performance across time. Sports 

Biomech, 2(1):133-140 (2003). 

4. Devi Sarojini H.: Variations in 

Physical Structures of the Meitei 

Women Weight Lifters and the 

Controlled Group, Anthropologist, 

8(4): 227-230. (2006) 

5. Fry A.C., B. K. Schilling, R.S. Staron, 

F.C. Hagerman, R.S. Hikida and J.T. 

Thrush: Muscle Fiber Characteristics and 

performance correlates of male Olympicstyle 

weightlifters, J. strength and con. 

Res, 17(4), pp: 746-754, (2003). 

6. Ghosh A.K. and Ahuja A.: A 

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Changes during Weightlifting, A 

thesis submitted to the Yale school of 

Medicine for the degree of M.D. (2006) 

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82 

9. Khanna G. H. et. al.: Body composition, 

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J.G. and Malhotra, M.S.: Physical 

status of some judoists in India, 

Ibid, 6 (2), pp-21-27 (1983). 

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Schilling: A primer on weightlifting 

from sports to sports training; 

Strength and Conditioning journal, 

27(1), pp-42-48 (2005). 

12. Malhotra, M.S., Khanna, G.L. and 

Verma, S.K.: Functional Characteristics 

of Indian National track cyclists, 

Ibid 7(11), pp-89-95 (1985). 

13. Sodhi, H.S. and Sidhu, L.S.: 

Physique and selection of 

sportsmen; Punjab publishing 

House, Patiala (1984). 

14. Venkateshwarulu, P., Krishnakumar, 

N. and Sodhi, H.S.: Comparison and 

relationship of muscle mass and fat mass to 

strength on weigh lifters and wrestler. 

pp.111-116. In: Origin of Kinanthropometry. 

H.S. Sodhi, D.P. Bhatnagar, 

P. Suriarajan and R. Mokha (Eds.). 

National Working Group on 

Kinanthropometry, Patiala (1990). 

15. Wilmore J: Training for Sports 

and Activity: The Physiological 

Basis of the Conditioning Process, 

2 nd Ed, Allyn and Bacon Inc.

EFFECT OF COMBINED ACTION OF YOGASANAS 

AND PRANAYAMA EXERCISES REDUCES LIPID PROFILES 

AND ENHANCES ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN YOUNG 

HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS 

ABSTRACT 

Dr. Annida Balakrishnan and Suthakar Krishnaswamy 

The present study was designed to find out the effect of yogasanas 

and pranayama exercises lowers the lipid levels and increases the 

antioxidant status. Sixty men students of age 25-28years were 

selected randomly as subjects from B.P.E.d in the Department of 

Physical Education and Sports Science, Annamalai University. 

Selected subjects were divided into four groups with fifteen numbers 

of each. Group1 served as Control; Group 2 as Asana; Group 3 as 

Pranayama and Group 4 as Asana and Pranayama. Experimental 

study was carried out for three months duration. Selected yogasnas 

and pranayama exercises were given to the experimental groups for 

(4days/week) for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected before and 

after the complete course of treatment. Biochemical analysis was 

done on selected lipid and antioxidant variables by the concerned 

Biochemist, Department of Biochemistry, Annamalai University. 

Resulted Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and 

DMRT and they were significant at p≤ 0.05 levels. Thus our study 

concluded that combined exercises of yogasanas and pranayama 

practices reduces the lipid levels and retains the antioxidant status. It 

is also revealed that combined exercises produced better effect than 

alternate exercise groups. 

Keywords: TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), Hydroperoxides, Cholesterol, Freefattyacids, 

Triglycerides, Phospholipids, and Antioxidants 

INTRODUCTION 

Yoga is one of the many 

different techniques for achieving 

relaxation. Yoga has its origin in 

ancient India and in its original 

form consisted of a system of 

spiritual, moral and physical 

practices (Pilkington et al., 2005). 

The most central and common 

aspects of yoga practice today are 

different bodily postures (asanas) 

83 

and breathing exercises (pranayamas) 

(Parshad, 2004; Pilkington et 

al.,2005) that aim to focus the mind, 

achieve relaxation and increase 

wellness. 

Various health benefits of yoga 

have been described in previous 

studies. A review of anti-depressive 

effects of different forms of yoga 

(Parshad, 2004; Pilkington et al., 

2005) indicated potential beneficial


effects of yoga on depressive 

disorders. Other studies reported 

beneficial effects of yoga on anxiety, 

stress reduction and general wellbeing 

(Lavey et al., 2005; Ray et al., 

2001). However, the results need to 

be interpreted carefully since many 

of the published studies about yoga 

are small and no systematic and 

comprehensive reviews of scientific 

research on yoga have been published. 

It may also be difficult to 

compare studies done on different 

forms of yoga since benefits of yoga 

practice might differ by the style of 

the practice (Cowen and Adams, 

2005). 

Oxidative stress induces free 

radical generation. While oxidation 

of nutrients is essential for life, one 

of the adverse side-effects of 

oxidation is generation of reactive 

oxygen species (ROS). The oxidative 

stress imposed by ROS contributes 

to the process of aging as well as a 

variety of chronic degenerative 

diseases (Halliwell 1994; Gutteridge 

1993; Halliwell et al., 1992). The 

impact of the oxidative stress is 

minimized by a large number of 

endogenous as well as dietary 

antioxidants. 

The level of oxidative stress 

depends on the balance between 

production of ROS and their quenching 

by antioxidant mechanisms. Psychosocial 

stress increases oxidative stress 

(Sivonova, 2004), possibly by increasing 

84 

the production of ROS. Correspondingly, 

a few recent studies have shown 

that relaxation techniques reduce 

oxidative stress (Schneider et al., 1998; 

Bhattacharya et, al., 2002; Jatuporn et, al., 

2003). 

Since only a few studies of this 

type are available, more studies are 

needed to establish the place of 

various relaxation techniques in 

mitigating the biochemical, effects 

of psychosocial stress. Our study is 

an attempt in that direction. One of 

the indicators of oxidative stress is 

the degree of lipid peroxidation. 

Lipid peroxidation is thought to be 

a major factor in pathogenesis of 

many human diseases (Halliwell 

and Chirico 1993). Lipid peroxidation 

may be assessed from the 

blood concentration of lipid peroxidation 

products as measured by 

thiobarbituric acid reactive substances 

(TBARS), of which malondialdehyde 

(MDA) is a principal constituent. 

We have measured the concentration 

of TBARS in the blood of 

patients undergoing a comprehensive 

yoga based lifestyle modifycation 

program at the beginning and 

end of the program 

Sudarshan Kriya and related 

practices (SK&P) is a form of yoga 

practice that emphasizes breathing 

exercises. In addition to asanas, three 

different forms of pranayamas are 

practiced in succession (Jana-kiramaiah 

et, al., 2000). Previous studies suggested

that SK&P may be useful for relieving 

depression, improving the antioxidant 

defenses of the body, giving rise to 

beneficial EEG patterns, and possible 

improvements in blood chemistry 

(Janakiramaiah et al., 2000; Nagavenkatesha 

murthy et al., 1998; Sharma et 

al., 2003). For example, Janakiramaiah et 

al. found that the degree of depression 

significantly decreased (68–73%) in 

subjects with clinical depression after 

they practised SK daily for three weeks 

and this decrease was as effective as 

conventional pharmacological treatment 

(Janakiramaiah etal., 2000). 

The study was to develop a 

protocol that can investigate 

whether asnas and pranayama could 

be considered in connection with 

increased wellness. Even though 

what constitutes wellness can be 

debated, there are a number of 

studies demonstrating that the 

variables included in this study are 

among the most relevant to feeling of 

wellness by different approaches 

(Sharma et, al., 2003; Cowen,1994; 

Adams et al., 1997). To that end, 

outcome measures that were 

evaluated included depression, 

anxiety, mood, optimism, energy 

levels, and experience of altered states 

of consciousness. The present study 

was aimed to find out whether 

combined action of yogasnas and 

pranayama exercises reduces lipid 

profiles and enhances antioxidant 

status in young healthy individuals. 

85 

Effect of Combined Action of Yogasanas 

METHODOLOGY 

Selection of subjects: Sixty male 

students studying BPED in the 

Department of Physical Education 

and sports science, Annamalai 

University, Tamil Nadu were 

selected randomly as subjects and 

their age ranged between 25- 

28years. All the subjects involved in 

the experiment were healthy 

volunteers. 

Experimental Design: Selected 

subjects were grouped into four of 

each fifteen members namely, 

Group I - served as Control with 

fifteen of each, 

Group II - as Asana, 

Group III- as Pranayama and 

Group IV - as Asana and Pranayama. 

Experimental Duration: The yogic 

practices were given to all the 

treatment groups except the control 

for 3 months (4days/week). 

Food and Diet: Normal diet were 

taken and there is no restriction on diet 

Selection of variables: 

Biochemical variable includes 

Lipid peroxidative indices such as 

TBARS and hydroperoxides, HDL, 

LDL, VLDL, Cholesterol, triglycerides, 

Freefattyacids and phospholipids. 

Antioxidants includes both enzymic 

and non-enzymic antioxidants such as 

SOD, Catalase and GPX; non enzymic 

antioxidants includes GSH, Vitamin C, 

Vitamin E.


Selection of yogasnas and pranayama 

exercise 

Yogic practices include specific 

asana such as: 

Suryanamaskar, Tadasana, Trikonaasana, 

Paschimottanasana and Bhujangasana 

to increase HDL and decrease 

cholesterol, triglycerides, freefattyacids 

and phospholipids, VLDL and LDL. 

Sudarshan Kriya asana, Ujjayi- 

Pranayam, Bhastrika, Kapal-bhati, 

Bhramari, and Shavasna were practiced 

to increase the antioxidant 

levels. 

Sudarshan Kriya (SK) is a 

breathing technique introduced by Sri 

Sri Ravi Shankarji and involves 

breathing in three different rhythms. 

UjjayiPranayam- (long and deep 

breaths with constriction at the base 

of throat) and Bhastrika (fast and 

forceful breaths through nose along 

with arm movements). 

Biochemical estimations 

Biochemical Estimations were 

done by the concerned Biochemist 

in the Department of Biochemistry, 

Annamalai University. They followed 

the appropriate methods and 

the results were produced by them. 

Lipid peroxidative indices such 

as TBARS were estimated by the 

method of Ohkawa et al., (1979) and 

hydroperoxides by Jiang et al., 

(1992). HDL, LDL, VLDL (Ross and 

Harker,1976), Estimation of Choles- 

86 

terol using Allain et al., 1974, 

triglycerides estimated by the 

method (Foster and Dunn, 1973), 

Freefattyacids by (Falholt,1973) and 

phospholipids( Zilversmit and 

Davis,1950). 

Antioxidant includes enzymic 

antioxidants such as SOD estimated 

by the method of Kakkar et al., 

(1942), catalase (Sinha, 1972) and 

GPX (Rotruck etal., 1973). Non 

enzymic antioxidants include GSH 

by (Ellman, 1959) method, Vitamin 

C (Roe and Kuther, 1942), Vitamin E 

(Baker et al., 1980) was analyzed. 

Measuring Instrument 

Colorimeter was used for taking 

readings for the above estimations. 

Statistical analysis 

Biochemical variables were 

assessed before and after 3 months of 

yoga practices. The data were 

analyzed using ANOVA and the 

group means were compared by 

Duncan’s Multiple Range Test 

(DMRT). Differences was considered 

to be significant when p≤0.01.

RESULTS 

87 


Table-1 

Changes in the levels of TBARs and hydroperoxides in control and 

exercise groups 

Groups TBARS(mM) 

Hydroperoxides 

(×10 -5mM) 

Control 2.01±0.13 a 8.22±0.2 a 

Asanas 1.53±0.2 b 7.1±0.4 b 

Pranayama 1.68±0.25 c 6.11±0.13 c 

Asanas and Pranayama 1.46±0.13 d 5.36±0.2 d 

Data represents mean± SD from 15 subjects in each group. 

Values not sharing a common superscript letter (a,b,c, d) differ significantly at 

p≤0.01 (Duncan’s multiple range test) 

Group comparison: Group one with all, Group 2 and 3 with 4. 

TBARS 


TBARS 


Descriptive 

95% Confidence Min. Max. 

N Mean 

Std. 

Deviation 

Std. 

Error 

Interval for Mean 

Lower Upper 

Bound Bound 

1.00 15 2.0167 .13886 .03585 1.9398 2.0936 1.53 2.11 

2.00 15 1.5387 .20135 .05199 1.4272 1.6502 1.33 2.20 

3.00 15 1.6867 .25681 .06631 1.5444 1.8289 1.53 2.60 

4.00 15 1.4613 .13298 .03434 1.3877 1.5350 1.33 1.70 

Total 60 1.6758 .28299 .03653 1.6027 1.7489 1.33 2.60 

1.00 15 8.2233 .20866 .05388 8.1078 8.3389 7.68 8.62 

2.00 15 7.1060 .40781 .10530 6.8802 7.3318 6.45 8.30 

3.00 15 6.1173 .13025 .03363 6.0452 6.1895 5.99 6.50 

4.00 15 5.3687 .28377 .07327 5.2115 5.5258 5.03 5.89 

Total 60 6.7038 1.11433 .14386 6.4160 6.9917 5.03 8.62 

ANOVA 

Sum of 

Squares 

df 

Mean 

Square 

F Sig. 

Between Groups 2.717 3 .906 25.249 .000 

Within Groups 2.008 56 .036 

Total 4.725 59 

Between Groups 68.959 3 22.986 299.165 .000 


Total 73.262 59


Table.2 

Changes in the levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, freefattyacids and 

Phospholipids in control and exercise groups 

Groups Cholesterol 

mg/dl 

Triglycerides 

mg/dl 

88 

Free fattyacids 

mg/dl 

Phospholipids 

mg/dl 

Control 179.10±26.05 a 119.38 0.3 a 5.76±0.9 a 184.33±0.21 a 

Asanas 175.6±10.9 b 116.3±0.13 b 4.41±0.26 b 177.44±0.2 b 

Pranayama 170.32±9.9 c 110.22±0.7 c 3.79±0.22 c 174.86±0.4 c 

Asanas and Pranayama 165.7±.1.75 d 102.3±4.19 d 3.16±0.21 d 170.38±0.1 d 


Values not sharing a common superscript letter (a,b,c,d) differ significantly at p≤0.01 (Duncan’s 

multiple range test) 


Cholesterol 

Triglycerides 

Freefattyacids 

Phospholipids 

N Mean 

Descriptive 

Std. 

Deviation 

Std. 



Error Lower Upper 

Bound Bound 

Min. Max. 

1.00 15 179.1067 26.05819 6.72820 164.6761 193.5372 165.90 272.30 

2.00 15 175.6000 10.93891 2.82441 169.5422 181.6578 166.90 213.15 

3.00 15 170.3280 9.90281 2.55689 164.8440 175.8120 162.30 204.50 

4.00 15 165.7000 1.75368 .45280 164.7288 166.6712 164.69 171.90 

Total 60 172.6837 15.49129 1.99992 168.6818 176.6855 162.30 272.30 

1.00 15 119.3887 .31713 .08188 119.2130 119.5643 118.92 119.95 

2.00 15 116.3040 .12783 .03301 116.2332 116.3748 116.10 116.70 

3.00 15 110.2240 .72477 .18714 109.8226 110.6254 107.63 110.60 

4.00 15 102.3053 4.19090 1.08209 99.9845 104.6262 87.18 103.70 

Total 60 112.0555 6.89947 .89072 110.2732 113.8378 87.18 119.95 

1.00 15 5.7613 .93705 .24195 5.2424 6.2803 4.20 6.60 

2.00 15 4.4167 .26912 .06949 4.2676 4.5657 4.10 4.90 

3.00 15 3.7953 .22360 .05773 3.6715 3.9192 3.50 4.20 

4.00 15 3.1687 .21013 .05426 3.0523 3.2850 3.02 3.90 

Total 60 4.2855 1.08821 .14049 4.0044 4.5666 3.02 6.60 

1.00 15 184.3333 .21266 .05491 184.2156 184.4511 184.00 184.67 

2.00 15 177.4453 .20000 .05164 177.3346 177.5561 177.20 177.90 

3.00 15 174.8667 .42538 .10983 174.6311 175.1022 174.00 175.40 

4.00 15 170.3880 .12491 .03225 170.3188 170.4572 170.23 170.60 

Total 60 176.7583 5.09923 .65831 175.4411 178.0756 170.23 184.67

Cholesterol 

Triglycerides 

Free fatty acid 

Phospholipids 

Duncan 

ANOVA 

89 



Squares 

df 

Mean 

Square 

F Sig. 


Within Groups 12597.619 56 224.957 

Total 14158.829 59 


Within Groups 254.882 56 4.551 

Total 2808.561 59 



Total 69.868 59 

Between Groups 1530.182 3 510.061 7240.626 .000 


Total 1534.127 59 

Post Hoc Tests 

Homogeneous Subsets 

CHOLESTEROL 

GROUP N 

Subset for alpha = .01 

4.00 15 165.7000 

3.00 15 170.3280 

2.00 15 175.6000 

1.00 15 179.1067 

Sig. .027 

Means for groups in homogeneous subsets are displayed. 

a Uses Harmonic Mean Sample Size = 15.000. 

Duncan 

GROUP N 

4.00 15 102.3053 

TRIGLYCERIDES 

3.00 15 110.2240 


1 2 3 4 

2.00 15 116.3040 

1.00 15 119.3887 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



1


Duncan 

GROUP N 

4.00 15 3.1687 

FREEFATTYACID 

3.00 15 3.7953 

90 


1 2 3 4 

2.00 15 4.4167 

1.00 15 5.7613 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

GROUP N 

4.00 15 170.3880 

PHOSPHOLIPIDS 

3.00 15 174.8667 


1 2 3 4 

2.00 15 177.4453 

1.00 15 184.3333 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Table-3 

Changes in the levels of HDL, LDL and VLDL in Control and exercise groups 

Groups HDL mg/dl LDL mg/dl VLDL mg/dl 

Control 55.7 ±0.3 a 110.41 ± 0.10 a 32.49 ±0.2 a 

Asana 57.4 ± 2.7 b 107.45 ± 0.18 b 28.36 ±0.16 b 

Pranayama 59.9 ± 1.6 c 103.37 ±0 .23 c 25.24 ± 0.1 c 

Asanas and Pranayama 66.25± 0.19 d 100.4±.18 d 23.27±.15 d 


Values not sharing a common superscript letter (a,b,c,d) differ significantly at 


Group comparison: Group one with all, Group 2 and 3 with 4.

HDL 

LDL 

VLDL 

HDL 

LDL 

VLDL 

N Mean 

Std. 

Deviation 

Descriptive 

91 

Std. 

Error Lower 

Bound 




Upper 

Bound 

Min. Max. 

1.00 15 55.7067 .35421 .09146 55.5105 55.9028 55.10 56.04 

2.00 15 57.4087 2.79359 .72130 55.8616 58.9557 50.60 65.30 

3.00 15 59.9073 1.63423 .42196 59.0023 60.8123 59.25 65.78 

4.00 15 66.2507 .19514 .05038 66.1426 66.3587 66.00 66.75 

Total 60 59.8183 4.33817 .56006 58.6977 60.9390 50.60 66.75 

1.00 15 110.4140 .10329 .02667 110.3568 110.4712 110.20 110.60 

2.00 15 107.4587 .18330 .04733 107.3572 107.5602 107.12 107.80 

3.00 15 103.3753 .23862 .06161 103.2432 103.5075 103.00 103.70 

4.00 15 100.4060 .18130 .04681 100.3056 100.5064 100.18 100.80 

Total 60 105.4135 3.85792 .49806 104.4169 106.4101 100.18 110.60 

1.00 15 32.4933 .20275 .05235 32.3811 32.6056 32.15 32.80 

2.00 15 28.3693 .16131 .04165 28.2800 28.4587 28.16 28.65 

3.00 15 25.2427 .10375 .02679 25.1852 25.3001 25.12 25.45 

4.00 15 23.2753 .15629 .04035 23.1888 23.3619 23.12 23.55 

Total 60 27.3452 3.51626 .45395 26.4368 28.2535 23.12 32.80 

ANOVA 


Squares 

df 

Mean 

Square 

F Sig. 


Within Groups 148.937 56 2.660 

Total 1110.364 59 



Total 878.130 59 



Total 729.481 59


Duncan 

GROUP N 



HDL 

1.00 15 55.7067 

2.00 15 57.4087 

92 


1 2 3 4 

3.00 15 59.9073 

4.00 15 66.2507 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

GROUP N 

4.00 15 100.4060 

LDL 

3.00 15 103.3753 


1 2 3 4 

2.00 15 107.4587 

1.00 15 110.4140 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

GROUP N 

4.00 15 23.2753 

VLDL 

3.00 15 25.2427 


1 2 3 4 

2.00 15 28.3693 

1.00 15 32.4933 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 


a Uses Harmonic Mean Sample Size = 15.000.

93 


Table-4 

Changes in the level of enzymic antioxidant status in control and exercise group 

Groups 

SOD 

(U A/mg Hb) 

CATALASE 

(U A/mg Hb) 

GPX 

(U A/mg Hb) 

Control 0.93±0.4 a 8.7±0.7 a 55.11±0.4 a 

Asana 1.36±0.1 b 9.8±0.1 b 60.33±0.1 b 

Pranayama 1.7±0.2 c 11.8±1.2 c 62.11±0.4 c 

Asanas and Pranayama 2.4±0.1 d 14.42±0.3 d 64.54±1.6 d 


Values not sharing a common superscript letter (a,b,c,d) differ significantly at 



A- Enzymes required for 50% inhibition of NBT reduction/min/mg Hb 

SOD 

CATALASE 

GPX 

N Mean 

Descriptive 

Std. 

Deviatio 

n 

Std. 

Error 



Lower 

Bound 

Upper 

Bound 

Min. Max. 

1.00 15 .9393 .46108 .11905 .6840 1.1947 .59 2.55 

2.00 15 1.3600 .14142 .03651 1.2817 1.4383 1.26 1.85 

3.00 15 1.7080 .24826 .06410 1.5705 1.8455 1.09 2.30 

4.00 15 2.4000 .13464 .03476 2.3254 2.4746 2.20 2.59 

Total 60 1.6018 .60449 .07804 1.4457 1.7580 .59 2.59 

1.00 15 8.7033 .75273 .19435 8.2865 9.1202 8.10 11.30 

2.00 15 9.8013 .19026 .04912 9.6960 9.9067 9.50 10.12 

3.00 15 11.8080 1.25303 .32353 11.1141 12.5019 10.70 13.80 

4.00 15 14.4207 .34599 .08933 14.2291 14.6123 13.82 14.77 

Total 60 11.1833 2.31450 .29880 10.5854 11.7812 8.10 14.77 

1.00 15 55.1180 .44967 .11610 54.8690 55.3670 54.35 55.80 

2.00 15 60.3360 .10894 .02813 60.2757 60.3963 60.20 60.60 

3.00 15 62.1167 .44432 .11472 61.8706 62.3627 61.23 62.80 

4.00 15 64.5467 1.69158 .43676 63.6099 65.4834 62.20 66.20 

Total 60 60.5293 3.60202 .46502 59.5988 61.4598 54.35 66.20


SOD 

CAT 

GPX 

Duncan 

ANOVA 


Squares 

94 

df 

Mean 

Square 

F Sig. 



Total 21.559 59 



Total 316.059 59 



GROUP N 

Total 765.499 59 

1.00 15 .9393 



SOD 

2.00 15 1.3600 


1 2 3 4 

3.00 15 1.7080 

4.00 15 2.4000 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

GROUP N 

1.00 15 8.7033 

CAT 

2.00 15 9.8013 


1 2 3 4 

3.00 15 11.8080 

4.00 15 14.4207 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 


a Uses Harmonic Mean Sample Size = 15.000.

Duncan 

GPX 

95 


GROUP N 

1 


2 3 4 

1.00 15 55.1180 

2.00 15 60.3360 

3.00 15 62.1167 

4.00 15 64.5467 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Table-5 

Changes in the levels of nonenzymic antioxidant status in control and 

exercise groups 

Groups GSH mg/dl Vit-E mg/dl Vit-C mg/dl 

Control 58.34±0.19 a 1.53±0.21 a 1.88±0.1 a 

Asana 64.19±0.23 b 1.98±0.13 b 2.37±0.15 b 

Pranayama 65.73±0.47 c 2.37±0.11 c 3.07±0.33 c 

Asanas and Pranayama 70.33±0.12 d 2.98±0.15 d 4.3±0.26 d 


Values not sharing a common superscript letter (a,b,c, d) differ significantly at 



A-µmoles of H2 O2 utilized/min/mg Hb 

GSH 

VITE 

VITC 

Descriptive 

N Mean 

Std. 

Deviation 

Std. 

Error 



Lower Upper 

Min. Max. 

Bound Bound 

1.00 15 58.3467 .19104 .04933 58.2409 58.4525 58.10 58.90 

2.00 15 64.1947 .23772 .06138 64.0630 64.3263 63.80 64.67 

3.00 15 65.7300 .47580 .12285 65.4665 65.9935 65.11 66.40 

4.00 15 70.3360 .12437 .03211 70.2671 70.4049 70.12 70.55 

Total 60 64.6518 4.33009 .55901 63.5333 65.7704 58.10 70.55 

1.00 15 1.5300 .21679 .05598 1.4099 1.6501 1.41 2.30 

2.00 15 1.9873 .13541 .03496 1.9123 2.0623 1.80 2.20 

3.00 15 2.3733 .11030 .02848 2.3122 2.4344 2.21 2.55 

4.00 15 2.9813 .15982 .04126 2.8928 3.0698 2.80 3.30 

Total 60 2.2180 .55910 .07218 2.0736 2.3624 1.41 3.30 

1.00 15 1.8807 .10747 .02775 1.8212 1.9402 1.76 2.20 

2.00 15 2.3733 .15079 .03893 2.2898 2.4568 2.22 2.85 

3.00 15 3.0760 .33970 .08771 2.8879 3.2641 2.50 3.36 

4.00 15 4.3887 .26060 .06729 4.2444 4.5330 4.00 4.90 

Total 60 2.9297 .97812 .12627 2.6770 3.1823 1.76 4.90


GSH 

VITE 

VITC 

Duncan 

ANOVA 

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 

Between Groups 1101.545 3 367.182 4386.066 .000 


Total 1106.233 59 



Total 18.443 59 



Total 56.446 59 



GSH 

GROUP N 

1 


2 3 4 

1.00 15 58.3467 

2.00 15 64.1947 

3.00 15 65.7300 

4.00 15 70.3360 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

VITE 

GROUP N 

1 


2 3 4 

1.00 15 1.5300 

2.00 15 1.9873 

3.00 15 2.3733 

4.00 15 2.9813 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



Duncan 

VITC 

GROUP N 

1 


2 3 4 

1.00 15 1.8807 

2.00 15 2.3733 

3.00 15 3.0760 

4.00 15 4.3887 

Sig. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 



96

The levels of TBARS and 

hydroperoxides were found to be 

increased in control groups of 

healthy individuals. Practice of 

yogasnas and pranayama reduces 

the levels of TBARS and 

hydroperoxides but the combined 

work of yogasna and pranayama 

were found to be more significant 

than other groups. (Table.1) 

Table 2 shows the levels of 

cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty 

acids and phospholipids in control 

and exercise groups. The levels of 

lipid profiles increased in control 

groups of healthy individuals. 

Yogasna and pranayama practices 

decrease the levels of lipid profile. 

Significant reduction was seen in 

combined action of yogasna and 

pranayama exercise group than 

other groups. 

Table 3 shows the levels of 

lipoprotein levels in control and 

exercise groups. Significant increase 

in HDL and decrease in LDL and 

VLDL were found in yogasna and 

pranayama groups. Practice of 

yogasna and pranayama reduces the 

LDL and VLDL level and increases 

the HDL levels than non practice 

control group. We found better 

improvement in combined action of 

both yogasnas and pranayama. 

SOD, CAT and GPX were 

significantly decreased in control 

group of healthy individuals. The 

activities of enzymic antioxidants were 

97 


significantly elevated in yogasna, 

pranayama and yogasna and 

pranayama group. Regular practice of 

exercise enhances the antioxidant 

status and it was also found that better 

improvement in combined group of 

yogasna and pranayama group than 

other. (Table .4) 

Non-enzymic antioxidants levels 

were decreased in control group of 

healthy individuals. The levels of 

GSH, vit-C and vit-E were retained 

in yogasna, pranayama and yogasna 

and pranayama groups by doing 

their exercise regularly. Much better 

improvement in repairing the 

antioxidant status was noticed in 

performing the combined exercise 

of yogasana and pranayama. 

(Table.5) 

DISCUSSIONS 

Resulted studies revealed that 

Asanas and Pranayama group 

produced better effect in modifying 

the lipid levels and thereby 

enhances the antioxidant status. A 

review showed that yoga had 

beneficial effect on Body Weight, 

Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose level 

and Cholesterol level (Yang, 2007). 

The practice of yoga was 

associated with significant decrease 

in cholesterol among subjects with 

cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, 

angina, hypertension and 

Type 2 Diabetes at different duration 

of yoga (Yang, 2007; Mahajan et


al., 1999; Agarwal etal., 2003; 

Satyajit, 2004; Bijlani etal., 2005; 

Damodaran etal., 2002; Gorden etal., 

2008). Results of our study found 

that 12 week practice of asana and 

pranayama significantly decreases 

cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty 

acids, phospholipids, LDL, VLDL 

and increases HDL and enzymic 

and non-enzymic antioxidant status. 

Better effect was observed in combined 

form of asana and pranayama 

exercises. 

Studies on the ancient practice of 

Yoga have demonstrated an 

improvement in respiratory function. 

Yoga consists of a number of different 

practices, the most common of which 

are the pranayama, the coordination 

of controlled ventilation and the 

asanas or stretching exercises. 

Pranayama requires breath holding 

which may result in increased 

parasympathetic control of 

respiratory control centers (Mauch 

and Dr. Day 2008). Long duration 

training of SKY (Sudharsana Kriya 

yogasana) improves many body 

functions. 

Studies showed that the ancient 

Indian yoga system emphasizes on 

controlled breathing (pranayama), 

body postures (asanas), relaxation of 

mind (Meditation) (Madan and Pal, 

2002; Agte and Tarwadi, 2004). Better 

ability to overcome stress can be cited 

as possible mechanism for 

improvement in lipid profile (Vyas 

etal., 2008). 

98 

SKY is a unique breathing process 

not practiced as a single technique but 

is integrated with asanas, pranayama, 

meditation and attitude training. This 

type of yoga is said to heal and purify 

within, is a natural and non invasive 

stress relieving technique (Agte and 

Tarwadi, 2004). SKY or “Proper Vision 

by Purifying Action” is an advanced 

form of cyclical breathing at variant 

rate, slow, medium and fast (Sharma 

et, al., 2008). It is preceded by Ujjayi 

pranayama (long & deep breath with 

constriction at the base of throat) and 

Bhastrika (fast and forceful breaths 

through nose along with arm 

movements) (Sharma et, al., 2008). Our 

results shows decrease in total 

cholesterol, LDL-C along with 

significantly increase in HDL-C after 

12weeks of SKY training. 

TBARS and hydro peroxides are 

the lipid peroxidative indices prone to 

produce free radicals leading to 

disease condition in even healthy 

individuals. (Girotti, 1985). Lipid 

peroxidation and generation of free 

radicals are associated with pathogennesis 

of many diseases. In our study 

increase in lipid peroxidation is found 

due to oxidative stress. Oxidative 

stress/ free radicals may contribute to 

the patho physiology of many chronic 

diseases. (Himani Sharma et al., 2003). 

Practice of Sudarshan Kriya 

Yoga (SKY) along with asana and 

pranayama performed consciously 

and with awareness (Madan and

Pal, 2002) play vital role in reducing 

total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol 

and significantly increasing HDL 

cholesterol. 

Yoga emphasizes on controlled 

breathing (pranayama), body 

posture (asana), relaxation of mind 

(meditation) keeps a person energetic 

& healthy for maintaining 

health and fitness and for treating 

diseases (Madan and Pal, 2002; Agte 

and Tarwadi ,2004). SKY has a 

sound scientific basis and is an ideal 

tool for improving the health. A 

study reviewed that practice of yoga 

has beneficial effect on biochemical 

and physiological functions (Madan 

and Pal, 2002). 

Recent research also showed 

that regular practice of yoga reduces 

the oxidative stress and improves 

the antioxidant levels (Bhattacharya 

et al., 2002). 

An antioxidant is a substance that 

scavenges free radicals generated due 

to oxidative stress. It has been 

suggested that exercise training is 

known to be effective in type 2 

diabetes mellitus by increasing 

insulin sensitivity (Ibanez J, Izquierdo 

etal., 2005), and regular exercise can 

strengthen antioxidant defenses and 

may reduce oxidative stress (Kim et 

al., 1996). Exercises including yoga 

postures have been shown to play a 

role in preventing type 2-diabetes 

(Sahay and Dahay, 2002). The yoga 

postures are slow rhythmic move- 

99 


ments which emphasize the stimulation 

of the organs and glands by 

easy bending and extensions which 

do not over-stimulates muscles but 

concentrate on glandular stimulation 

(Nayak and Shankar, 2004). A major 

benefit of non-exhaustive exercise 

such as yoga is to induce a mild 

oxidative stress that stimulates the 

expression of certain antioxidant 

enzymes. This is mediated by the 

activation of redox-sensitive signaling 

pathways (Reid, 2001). For example, 

gene expression of SOD is enhanced 

after an acute bout of exercise 

preceded by an elevation of NFkappaB 

and AP-1 binding. An 

increase in de novo protein synthesis 

of an antioxidant enzyme such as 

SOD or catalase usually requires 

repeated bouts of exercise (Jil, 2002). 

This could explain the increase in the 

activity of SOD in the Hatha yoga and 

conventional PT exercise groups at 

the end of six months. (Lorenzo A 

Gordon etal., 2008). 

‘‘Pranayama’’ (the practice of 

voluntary breath control, consisting of 

conscious inhalation, retention and 

exhalation) is often practiced in 

conjunction with ‘‘dhyana’’ 

(meditation), and ‘‘asanas ’’(physical 

posture) (Yardi, 2001). Versions of 

pranayama vary from single nostril 

breathing to belly breathing. 

Pranayama consists of three phases: 

‘‘puraka’ (inhalation); ‘‘kumbhaka’’ 

(retention) and ‘‘rechaka’’ (exhalation) 

that can be either fast or slow


(Chodzinski, 2000). Although all 

pranayama has three phases, different 

forms of pranayama evoke dissimilar 

and sometimes opposite responses in 

the subject depending on variables 

such as which nostril is used or the 

speed of the respiration. Pranayama 

has been researched mostly for its 

beneficial applications in treatment of 

cardiovascular diseases such as 

hypertension (Chodzinski, 2000; Singh 

et al.2004; Harinath et al 2004), 

pulmonary disease such as asthma 

(Cooper S et al., 2003; Singh etal., 2000; 

Vedanthan etal., 1998), autonomic 

nervous system imbalances (Pal et al., 

2004), and psychologic or stress 

related disorders (Harinath K et al. 

2004; Brown and Gerbarg 2005). 

Pranayama is known to improve 

pulmonary function (Malhotra et al 

2002) and cardiovascular profile 

(Chodzinski, 2000; Singh et al.2004; 

Harinath et al 2004). In studies that 

examined pranayama as a form of 

exercise, nostril breathing was shown 

to increase hand grip strength of both 

hands (Raghuraj P et al. 1997). 

Pranayama, by reducing risk factors 

associated with cardiovascular disease 

(Bijlani et al. 2005), has shown that it is 

not only theraputic but also 

preventative. Reduction in oxidative 

stress levels with increased super-oxide 

dismutase and decreased number of 

free radicals may explain in part the 

beneficial long term impact pranayama 

has on the cardiopulmonary system 

(Bhattacharya et, al., 2002). 

100 

Cellular intracellular enzymes 

such as SOD and catalase along 

with non-enzymatic antioxidants 

(gluta-thione) act as primary line of 

defense to cope with the deleterious 

effects of reactive oxygen species 

(Bradley and Nathan, 1984). 

Superoxide dismutase detoxifies 

superoxide radicals and converts 

them to hydrogen peroxide which is 

further converted to water by 

catalase and glutathione peroxidase. 

Reduced scavenging of free 

radicals by SOD, decreased 

glutathione and decreased activity 

of catalase are associated with 

diabetes and vascular pathology 

(Baynes and Thorpe, 1996). Reduced 

capacities of antioxidant enzymes 

lead to increased oxidative stress in 

diabetes (Arai et, al., 1987) in the 

study evaluation of antioxidant 

status demonstrated significant 

increase in SOD activity and nonsignificant 

increase in catalase 

activity with a concomitant 

significant reduction in MDA in the 

Hatha yoga and conventional PT 

groups after six months. The 

improved antioxidant status due to 

these exercise regimens may point 

to adaptive response to oxidative 

stress reflecting free radical 

production and increased enzyme 

biosynthesis (Lui etal., 1993). 

Furthermore, in oxidative stress 

when excessive superoxide formation 

may be accompanied by increased 

nitric oxide levels, elevated SOD

activity may play a protective role 

in preventing cells from peroxynitrite 

formation (Li et al., 2000). 

A variety of natural antioxidants 

exist to scavenge oxygen free 

radicals and prevent oxidative 

damage to biological membranes. 

One group of these antioxidants is 

enzymatic (intracellular), which 

includes superoxide dismutase 

(SOD), glutathione peroxidase 

and catalase (Halliwell B, Gutteridge 

1999). In addition to enzymatic 

antioxidants, are the major natural 

antioxidants, most of them derived 

from natural sources by dietary 

intake and include vitamin A, 

vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoids 

(Liu etal., 2006). Abnormally high 

levels of peroxidation and the 

simultaneous decline of antioxidant 

defense mechanisms can lead to 

damage of cellular organelles and 

oxidative stress (Mahboob et, al., 

2005).To encounter act our study has 

been carried out for 12 weeks of 

regular practice of yogasnas and was 

found to be effective in reducing the 

oxidative stress and retains the 

antioxidant status in healthy individuals. 

CONCLUSION 

Thus our study concluded that 

combined action of yogasanas and 

pranayama produces beneficial 

effect in reducing lipid levels by 

enhancing the antioxidant status. It 

is also revealed that yogasnas and 

101 


pranayama by their combined 

exercises helps us to keep our body 

and mind healthy and free from 

disease. 

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CONTRIBUTORS 

1 


Rajender Singh is Reader in the department of Physical Health & Sports Education, 

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India and Rajesh Kumar, Research Scholar in the 

same department are joint authors of the article titled “An Effect of Mental Toughness 

on Different Level of Participation in Soccer Player” 

Dr. Aslam Pervez Memon, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, 

University of Sindh, Jamshoro; Soniha Aslam Ghouri, Assistant Professor, Centre for 

Physical Education, Health & Sports Science; Dr. Deen Muhammad Jalbani, Associate 

Professor, Department of Political Science and Dr. Yasmeen Iqbal Qureshi, Professor & 

Director, Centre for Physical Education, Health & Sports Science working at the same 

university have jointly written article titled “Sports as a Dynamic Force in the 

Development of relations among Nations in Global Politics” 

M. Muftler, Research Assistant, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Middle East 

Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, Ahmet Yapar, Research Assistant in the same 

Department and University, S.G. Irez, Physical Education and Sport School, Gazi 

University, Ankara, Turkey and M.L. Ince, Associate Professor, Department of Physical 

Education and Sport, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; have jointly 

written article titled “Examination of public parks for physical activity participation by 

their Location, Size and Facilities”. 

Diane E. Mack, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Brock University, St. 

Catharines, Canada; Katie E. Gunnell, PhD Candidate, School of Human Kinetics, 

University of British Columbia, Canada; Philip M. Wilson, Associate Professor, 

Department of Kinesiology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada; Jenna D. Gilchrist, 

MA Candidate, of the same department and university, Kent C. Kowalski, Associate 

Professor, College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; Peter R.E. 

Crocker, Professor, School of Human Kinetics, University of British Columbia, Canada; 

Leah J. Ferguson, Doctoral Candidate, College of Kinesiology, University of 

Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada and J.D. Adachi, Professor, Department of Medicine, 

McMaster University, Canada; have written joint article titled “Physical activity in 

individuals living with osteopenia: Association with Psychological need satisfaction 

and motives for well-being”. 

Jumshaid Ahmed, Students Affairs / Sports, Hamdard University, Karachi, Pakistan 

and Muhammad Akram Ansari, Assistant Professor, Centre for Physical Education, 

Health & Sports Science, University of Sindh, Jamshoro; have jointly written article titled 

“Gender Differences of self-confidence in sports with reference to Pakistan Socio- 

Cultural factors and attitudes towards women”. 

(Continued on Page No. 02)


2 

(Page No. 02) 

Parachi Shah, Physical Therapist, Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health 

Sciences, Manipal University, India; Abraham Samuel Babu, working as Physical Therapist in 

the same department at Manipal; Vaibhavi Satam also serving as Physical Therapist in the same 

department; H.S. Ballal is Professor and Pro-Chancellor, Department of Physiotherapy, 

Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, India; Fiddy Davis, Associate Professor, Department 

of Physiotherapy in the same University and Arun G. Maiya, Professor and Head, Department 

of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, India are the joint authors of 

article titled “A Musculoskeletal injury profile of athletes at a National Inter- 

University Athletic meet in Minipal, Karnataka, India” 

Ifeanyichukwu C. Elendu, Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of 

Education, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria and Tammy T. Orunaboka 

working in the same department and university at Nigeria have jointly written article titled 

“Sports as an institution for gender stereotype challenge and women empowerment: 

A reflection on Nigerian Elite Sportswomen at the Olympics” 

Ahmed M. Al-Shishani, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education, The 

Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan; Akef M. Taifour, Instructor, Department of 

Physical Education, and Aman S. Khasawneh, Associate Professor, Department of 

Physical Education at the same University have jointly written article titled “Curriculum 

Quality and Academic Reputation of Physical Education College in Health–Fitness 

Job Marketing in Jordan”. 

Bhavana S. Masale, Assistant Teacher in Biology, Department of Biology, Shivaji 

University, Kolahapur, Maharashtra, India and Vijay A. Sawant, Former Head and 

Professor, Department of Zoology at the same university have jointly written article titled 

“Physiological Profile of Trained Weightlifters”. 

Dr. Annida Balakrishnan is Co-ordinator International Operations, Bharath Institute of 

Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, and Suthakar Krishnaswamy is 

PhD Scholar in the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science at Annamalai 

University, Chidambaram, are joint authors of the article titled “Effect of Combined 

action of Yogasanas and Pranayama Exercises reduces lipid profiles and enhances 

antioxidant status in Young Healthy Individuals”.

ISSN 1991-8410 Volume 06, 2011 Editors - University of Sindh

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