Effects of recreational football on body composition and blood pressure in sedentary older men: a feasibility study

Introduction or background: Hypertension is a critical health risks that significantly affect the quality of life in older adults. Physical activity programs t ailoredtotheneedsofspecificpopulationshaveproveneffectiveinmitigatingtheserisks.
Sources of data: The study employed a single-group pretest–posttest design to evaluate the effects of recreational football interventions on body composition and blood pressure (BP). The independent variable was time (pretest, midtest, and posttest), and the dependent variables were body composition and BP. Nineteen male participants (mean±SD age: 65.9±2.85 years) were included in the study and participated in a 24-week recreational soccer (RS) program consisting of 1-hour sessions twice a week. B odycompositionparameters[bodymass,fatmass,andbodymassindex(BMI)]wereassessedusingdual-energyX-rayabsorptiometry,whileBPwasmeasuredusingasemi-automatedmonitorfollowingguidelines.Statisticalanalyses,includingtheFriedmanandWilcoxonsigned-ranktestswithBonferronicorrection,revealedsignificantimprovementsinbodymass(χ2(2) = 22.73,P≤.001), fat mass (χ2(2) = 22.88,P≤.001), andBMI(χ2(2) = 22.73,P≤.001). Additionally, reductions in sy stolicBP(χ2(2) = 9.08,P≤.011), diastolic BP (χ2(2) = 15.62,P≤.001), and meanBP(χ2(2) = 16.33,P≤.001) were obser ved.
Areas of agreement: The results support previous findings that aerobic and group-based physical activity can improvecardiovascularandmetabolichealthinolderadults.
Areas of controversy:The single-group design and small sample size limit the ability to generalize findings. F uturerandomizedcontrolledtrialsareneededtoestablishcausality.
Growingpoints:ThisstudyprovidesnewevidenceontheuseofRSasafeasible,enjoyable,andeffectiveinterventiontoimprove body composition and BP inolderadults.
Areas timely for developing research: Future studies should focus on the long-term effects of RS, its impact on bone mineral densit y,anditscomparativeefficacyversusotherexercisemodalitiesforagingpopulations.