Abstract:
Research exist regarding the effects of skipping on physiological responses
including body mass index (BMI) globally. Using the one-group pre-test post test repeated measures pre-experimental design, this study investigated the
effects of nine-week skipping intervention on BMI of primary six pupils in
University Primary School (UPS), Cape Coast. Seventy-seven pupils were
chosen for the study using simple random sampling (without replacement)
technique. A researcher-generated data summary sheet was used to record the
pupils’ measurements (height, weight, gender, skipping frequency, age, and
BMI). The hypotheses were tested with independent samples t-test, one-way
ANOVA with repeated measures and multiple linear regression, all at 95%
confidence level. There was no statistically significant difference in BMI
between male (M = 20.15, SD = 4.36) and female (M = 20.68, SD = 5.32; t (75)
= -.484, p = .63) pupils. There was a statistically significant difference in BMI
between pre-test (M = 21.47, SD = 4.94); (M = 21.56, SD = 5.80) and post-test
(M = 20.15, SD = 4.36); (M = 20.69, SD = 5.32) measurements of male and
female pupils, respectively. None of the demographic characteristics of the male
pupils had a marked predictive relationship with their BMI after the nine-week
skipping training intervention. However, only baseline measurements of height
(B = .37, p < .05), weight (B = -.57, p < .05) and BMI (B = 2.20, p < .05) had
predictive relationship with BMI for post-test 3 for female pupils. It was
concluded that skipping could be used to improve the BMI of the primary six
pupils with normal weight. School authorities should adopt skipping for both
male and female pupils to improve their BMI status.
