HEART RATE AND PERCEIVED EXERTION AMONG YOUNG ADULT OBESE MALES DURING ONE-HANDED CARRYING

摘要

Obesity is an increasing problem across the globe that has been strongly associated with work-relatedinjury. One-handed carrying is considered one of the most fatiguing methods of load carrying. Theobjective of this study was to examine the effects of obesity and load magnitude on heart rate and ratings ofperceived exertion among young adult males during one-handed carrying. Load magnitude was observed tohave a statistically significantly effect on heart rate and perceived exertion of the arm, back and wholebody, whereas obesity was significant only for perceived exertion of the arm. The results suggest thatyoung adult obese males can carry similar loads as young adult non-obese males without having astatistically significant increase in heart rate or perceived exertion. However, more research is needed tovalidate these results for longer distances and carrying times.