SHALLOW-WATER EXERCISE INFLUENCE UPON BODY COMPOSITION, CARDIOVASCULAR, HEMATOLOGICAL, SPIROMETRY AND FITNESS OF ADULTS AND OLDER WOMEN AND MEN

VEDANA, T. A.; SANTOS, R. N.; PEREIRA, J. M.; ARAUJO, S. P.; PORTES JúNIOR, M. P.; PORTES, L. A. Influência da hidroginástica sobre a composi o corporal, aspectos cardiovasculares, hematológicos, fun o pulmonar e aptid o física de adultos e idosos. Brazilian Journal of Biomotricity, v. 5, n. 2, p. 65-79, 2011. Aging causes an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI), body adiposity, arterial stiffness and arterial pressure, but it also causes a decrease in lean body mass, muscular strength, flexibility, cardiac and pulmonary function. The aim was to add to the current knowledge regarding the effects of a water-based exercise (WBE) upon the physical fitness of adults and older. Two weeks before and 16 weeks after WE program all participants (n = 34, 6 men and 28 women, 50-80 years old) were submitted to anthropometry, blood pressure, heart rate (HR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), spirometry, total cholesterol, glycemia, hematocrit and physical fitness measurements. The WBE program consisted by 2 sessions/week, 50 minutes/session, along 16 weeks. Paired Student’s t-test was used and, when apropriate, the Wilcoxon test was used, with a level of significance of 0.05. WE resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.02) in BMI, body adiposity, endomorphism and resting heart rate. It caused an increase in lean mass, SpO2 and hematocrit, an improvement in spirometry and flexibility, but there was no improvement in muscular strength. However, systolic blood pressure and glycemia worsened. WE improved body composition, pulmonary function, cardiovascular and biochemical aspects, and flexibility. The overlap of the 95% confidence intervals calculated for the variables here studied, the lack of favorable alterations in muscular strength and cholesterolemia, and the unfavorable alterations observed in glycemia and systolic arterial pressure suggest that the intensity of the WE sessions was not enough to generate greater benefits.