Physical Activities to Prevent and Decrease Obesity in Former Athletes from the District of Sequele

Abstract

In the last years, the interest in sports detraining has increased. Researches by different authors corroborate the effects on retired athletes´ health that abruptly interrupt their activity and do not undergo detraining programs. The main diseases detected were obesity and heart diseases; hence the relevance of the present investigation. The research was developed with retired athletes from the District of Sequele, Luanda, Angola. This article aims at assessing the influence of physical activity when preventing and reducing obesity in the former athletes studied; characterize their sports retirement; design actions for their detraining and evaluate their usefulness when preventing and reducing obesity. Different methods and techniques from scientific research are used: the inductive-deductive, analysis-synthesis, hypothetical-deductive, semi-structured interview, document review, and the mathematical-statistical: empirical frequency distribution. The main results derived from the research were the characterization of the sport retirement of the aforementioned athletes, the design of physical activities for their detraining, and for preventing and reducing obesity. The conclusions confirm that the characterization of the sport retirement of these athletes offers important information for their detraining. 17 % out of the retired athletes studied are overweight, while 83 % are obese. The above confirms the necessity and relevance of the present investigation. The partial implementation of the designed activities allowed preventing and reducing obesity in these athletes, which confirms its usefulness.