Objective The purposes of this study were to measure the muscle strength, muscle power, aerobic ability and muscle endurance of people with hidden obesity for comparison with those of a control group, to clarify the relation between muscle strength, muscle power, aerobic ability and muscle endurance, and to examine the interrelationship of the physical fitness of female college students with hidden obesity.
Methods Subjects were 178 healthy adult women. We measured the height, weight, body fat, body mass index (BMI) and waist/hip ratios of the subjects and classified them into a control group (83 person), hidden obesity group (40 person), obesity group (30 person) and slender group (25 person) . The subjects of the control group and hidden obesity group had grip strength, vertical jump, step test and upper body raising, in order to measure their muscle strength, muscle power, aerobic ability and muscle endurance. Since significant differences were recognized in the weight, body fat and BMI of the control group and the hidden obesity group, based on the preceding study, 15 subjects who do not have differences in weight, body fat and BMI were extracted at random from each group and their physical fitness indicators were compared.
Result and Discussion Significant differences were recognized in items except the decision index for the step test. In the control group, a significant correlation was recognized between items except grip strength and upper body raising. On the other hand, in the hidden obesity group, a significant correlation was not recognized between items. The athletic histories of the hidden obesity group showed low values significantly compared with those of the control group.
Conclusion It was thought that the diminished physical fitness of subjects with hidden obesity was caused by the fact that insufficient physical activities from school age until now suppressed the development of lean body mass, especially muscle mass, and deteriorated muscle functions. Moreover, it was suggested that synthetic physical fitness has not been developed harmoniously in subjects with hidden obesity.