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Buoyancy of African black and European white males
Author(s) -
Ama P.F.M.,
Ambassa S.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(1997)9:1<87::aid-ajhb11>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - buoyancy , trunk , hydrostatic weighing , anthropometry , arm span , exhalation , demography , body weight , medicine , anatomy , biology , mechanics , ecology , physics , sociology
Twenty‐six male swimmers (13 Blacks, 13 Whites) matched for age, weight, and stature were subjects in the comparison of anthropometric characteristics and horizontal and vertical buoyancies. Subjects were tested in a swimming pool in the horizontal position. The time necessary for the body to return to the vertical position defined horizontal buoyancy. Vertical buoyancy was the hydrostatic lift necessary to maintain the subject immersed to the nose. The results indicated similarities in arm span, trunk flexibility, and full inspiration and exhalation of Black and White subjects. However, there were differences in body fat distribution ( P ≤ 0.05) and buoyancies ( P ≤ 0.01), with Whites storing more fat and having better buoyancy than Blacks. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:87–92 © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.