Gender differences in decreasing of body mass and the percentage of body fat with body building

Abstract

Abstract: The research was conducted on a sample of 20 recreationalists (10 female and 10 male), between the age of 20 and 30, with the purpose of losing weight and decreasing the percentage of fat mass. Changes in body composition were measured through four variables: weight – body mass (BM), percentage of body fat (%BF), water percentage (%W) and percentage of muscle tissue (%MT). The subjects were measured three times - before the start of the exploration (initial measurement), at the end of the second month (control measurement) and at the end of the forth month (final measurement). Both groups were exercising 1½ hours (90 minutes), five times a week. The differences between all measurements were estimated with T–test of small dependent samples, and the sex differences in variables were determined with T–test of small independent samples. Statistically significant differences existed between female and male participants in all variables, on a level: .00, .01, .02 and .03, in three of the measurements. There are reductions in body mass (BM) and the percentage of body fat (%BF) from initial to final measurements that are statistically significant, in both genders. The only sex difference that can be seen in male subsample, the changes in percentage of body fat (%BF) appear earliеr, rather than at control measurements.