Senior health science major Cesar Martinez recently gained invaluable real-world experience while also helping out his men’s wrestling teammates.
Martinez, from Berryville, Ark., completed an independent study project earlier this month under the direction of Dr. Piroska Boros, assistant professor of health science. The project entailed collaborating with the wrestling team to conduct body composition tests for the team’s seasonal weight certification using the BodPod.
The capsule-shaped BodPod is a research-grade body composition analyzer system that the health science program secured two years ago during the completion of the new Wilson Science Center. The Bodpod estimates how much of the body’s make up is composed of fat, and how much is composed of other tissues that are not fat, called lean body mass.
“Body composition is important when it comes to physical fitness as it determines how an individual should train while also remaining healthy,” Martinez said. “There are various methods to determine body composition, but in terms of receiving accurate results, the BodPod is probably the best. This machine uses air displacement to estimate the body volume of a person while they sit inside the chamber. While sitting still, the air pressure and volume changes within the BodPod and body volume, body density and finally, body fat percentage is determined. Information of each individual, such as age, height, weight and sex, are also key in figuring out body fat percentages.”
Boros said increased proportions of fat mass compared to total body mass is linked to several chronic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, certain types of cancer.
“In turn, higher proportions of lean body mass is linked to better sport performance, as well as beneficial health outcomes,” Boros said. “This type of body composition model assumes that the density of the body is directly proportional to its volume and its mass. The BodPod resembles a capsule, with a known inside air volume. When someone sits in the closed capsule, they displace a volume of air that is equal to the volume of their body and that volume is what the BodPod measures along with the total body mass to compute body density. Then, using population-specific prediction formulas, it calculates body fat mass by knowing that body fat mass is inversely proportional to body density. That is, more fat equates to a less dense body.”
Head Wresting Coach Vinny Barber said the results from the test will not only be used for official weight certifications, but also to help coaches and wrestlers throughout the year.
“When you have much more accurate body composition data to pull from, that helps us as coaches and our wrestlers manage and regulate their weight throughout the year,” Barber said. “It’s especially cool that we have one of our wrestlers administering the tests and working with and educating his teammates on body composition. He understands wrestling and he understands the health science part of it and that’s extremely beneficial to our program.”
Martinez said he’s always been intrigued by the “egg-shaped machine that was sitting in the corner.”
“Being among one of the first to utilize such a precise piece of equipment is such an incredible and honoring experience,” Martinez said. “The accuracy of these tests is incredible. Normally, when wrestlers do weight certifications, the method of measuring body fat percentage we utilize is the skinfold test. This test involves pinching the skin in three different areas of the upper body and using calipers to measure. With the BodPod, I’ve been surprised about the accuracy of the data, such as body density, fat free mass percentage and caloric energy expenditure for the activity level of each person.”
Boros said students in the program’s independent study courses learn how to collect data using equipment in the exercise science lab.
“Secondary to that, they provide health and fitness assessment to the campus community when needed, which allows them to practice their skills of operating the equipment and interpreting the results,” she said. “To become a well-equipped health professional, or exercise science specialist, students need a balance between theory and practical skills, and tests like this add to that practice.”
Boros said the partnership with athletics started during the Fall 2023 Semester when health science students assessed the members of the women’s wrestling team with the BodPod.
“These tests provide valuable information to coaches by helping them to understand their athletes’ current status better, so they can prescribe a more individually tailored exercise plan for the season,” Boros said. “With repeated tests, they can also monitor the athletes’ progress and re-evaluate the effectiveness of the training plan. When students administer these tests, they are in a very different role than their peers or even themselves are used to see them. They take on the role of a lab technician, who has the responsibility to run the show, and with that, they not only learn health science-specific practical skills, but they also improve their leadership and problem-solving skills. Further they improve their interpersonal communication skills by explaining test procedures, prompting participants, and communicating test results to a layperson audience. Literally practicing what they will potentially do with their health science degree post-graduation either as a graduate student, or at work.”
Martinez believes the experience will benefit him as he pursues a career as an athletic trainer.
“I have ambitions of working as an athletic trainer, primarily working with college athletes,” he said. “Skills I am learning now will be very beneficial in serving other collegiate wrestlers just as I’ve been able to assist my own teammates.”
Boros said that if other University athletic teams or anyone from the campus community is interested in getting tested, they can contact her at pboros@ozarks.edu to get scheduled.
Topics: Athletics, Health Science