ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2019 October;178(10):723-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.18.03808-1

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

The effect of a physical fitness program on the health-related physical fitness components of blind male students

Yaaqoub CHEIKH ✉, Sefiane ZENAGUI

Laboratory of Physical Activity of the Child and Adolescent, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Mohamed Boudiaf University of Science and Technology of Oran (USTO-MB), Oran, Algeria

BACKGROUND: The number of people with visual impairment in the world is estimated at 285 million; 39 million of them suffer from total blindness, The aims of this research to know how much impact the physical fitness program may have on the health-related fitness elements of blind male students (15-18 years old). The experimental method was used on a sample of nine blind male students at the Visually Impaired Center, in the town of Tlemcen. These students were chosen randomly.
METHODS: Various tests were applied, namely the one-mile running test, the push-ups and sit ups tests the test of flexibility, we also measured skin folds in three different areas, i.e. chest, abdomen and mid-thigh.
RESULTS: The results obtained indicated that there are statistically significant differences between the pretests and posttests, in favor of the posttests, for all the health-related physical fitness elements (VO2max, upper limb strength, muscular endurance, lower limb strength, Body fat percentage).
CONCLUSIONS: It was found that it is highly recommended to pay great attention to the condition of health-related physical components of the blind and also to provide specialized professors in the field of motor activity in special centers for the visually impaired.

KEY WORDS: Physical fitness; Exercise; Visually impaired persons; Blindness; Motor activity