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CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

Engineering and Pharmacy are most demanding profession in

India. Engineering and Pharmacy are very typical profession that

demands an intensive mental load of study to satisfy the high

demands placed. So tolerte this pressure they need physical fitness

because sound body has a sound mind1.

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: fitness (a state

of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented

definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or

occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved

through exercises, correct nutrition and enough rest. It is an important

part of life. In previous years fitness was commonly defined as the

capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue.

However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles

following the industrial revolution rendered this definition

insufficient. Fitness is based on the attributes an individual has,

meaning what he is born with or has acquired, in other words through

1 Http://Runningandphilosophy.Blogspot.Com/2007/12/Sound-Mind-Sound-Body.Html

retrieve on 12/07/2011

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training. Thus, performance is influenced by inherited abilities

(genetic) and training status. An individual who is "naturally gifted"

will still need proper training to make the most of their talent2.

Barrow stated that many early civilizations such as Spartan,

early Athenian and Roman laid great stress upon physical fitness of

their countrymen. Physical training was important of their

educational programme. The developed and strong countries like

Germany laid great stress to improve the physical fitness of their

countrymen. Even after World War I and II American introduced an

organize physical training programme for the physical fitness of

youth and that continued even today. It was admitted fact that

physical fitness is an essential quality of man. A person, who is good

in strength, feels superior and tends to be well adjusted. While a

person who is poor in strength feels inferior and finds difficulties in

social adjustment. A person who does not enjoy healthy living is a

burden not only for himself, but for his nation and society as well.

Without good health one cannot enjoy the blessing of nature and

human life. Physical fitness is one’s valuable trait; it cannot be

2 Bissonnette, Rami, “A Factor Analytic Description Physical Fitness in Elementary School Boys”, Dissertation Abstract International. 2003, pp. 86-87

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purchased but has to be earned through daily routine of well plannned

physical activity3.

Physical fitness is used as one of the mode - through which

the aim of physical education achieved (a complete whole some

individual). A man's life is full of physical and a mental stress is a

matter of concern for optimum development of an individual. It

brings up the optimum health and also helps the society to create a

healthy environment to grow to the maximum. It is the pride of

nation. A healthy and fit society also fulfils the W.H.O. objective.

By means of Physical fitness programmes, performance of games

and sports are also improved. Every country is struggling hard for

the apex position in games and sports. To achieve this top position

every efforts is done. The scientific and systematic ways of

training are followed to improve the standards of physical fitness,

so that the best result should be achieved.

Apart from this, a healthy living also makes a person a

healthy citizen. Participation in sports is one of the common traits

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H.M Barrow, Man and Movement: Principles of Physical Education. W.S. Saunder and

Co., 1972. pp 56-57

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of human character and it starts to develop from the very

beginning of childhood. But, with the development of age, some

people participate in recreational sports or amateur sports whereas

very few individual dedicate themselves to become true

sportspersons by regular practice and training which enable them

to improve their psychological adjustments towards their goal4.

The characteristics of an athlete mainly depend upon

physical fitness, having components like muscular strength and

endurance, cardio- respiratory endurance, flexibility, speed,

power, agility, balance etc. But, these components may vary in

sportspersons involving different sports activities Today's world

is a mechanical world where human beings have to perform very

little physical activities as numbers of appliances which are being

operated by electricity have been developed. This is one of the

outcomes of development process which took place in the field of

science and technology. With these appliances, it has become very

easy to accomplish various complex and time consuming

functions within few minutes. Although through such appliances,

4 D Nandi “The Motor Fitness Factors as prediction of High Jump Abilities Among Middle

School Children.  Unpublished Master Degree Thesis, Jiwaji University Gwalior (M.P.)

1990.

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human beings have got a lot of relief, but still there are some

drawbacks found in this today modern and mechanical world, an

important drawback is these appliances adversely affect the health

and fitness levels of human beings to a considerable extent5.

As known that human beings, belonging to all the class and

creeds, have a body, which is made up of various muscles, bones

and tissues. Human beings perform various kinds of functions as a

result of various organs situated inside the body. It is only when

these organs will function properly that human body will be able

to perform different kinds of tasks appropriately. If any of the

organs will not be able to function properly, then the human body

gets caught by various kinds of diseases. An important cause of

improper function of various organs is lack of movement of

human limbs. As human beings make use of various parts of their

body to little extent, as a result of which muscles and tissues

existed in their body become inactive. In the condition of

inactivity, their possibilities of getting affected by various diseases

get increased. These diseases affect the functioning of whole

system of the body by which various other kinds of diseases also

5 J. Harry, “Evaluation of AAHPER Youth Fitness Test”.  Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness,2000.

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get inflicted to the body. They have been come into being and

various young people are found to be affected by various serious

problems like asthma and cancer6.

As different kinds of socio and economic conditions prevail

in different nations, thus studies conducted in different parts of the

world will reveal different results, because  of which reference to

various studies conducted by pioneer physical educators in various

international journals published in United States of America has

been made, as it is one of the most developed nation of the world

where majority of people are conscious of concept of physical

fitness and make use of various means by which they can keep

themselves fit. Although there is an increase in the consciousness

of concept of physical fitness in our country and in other under

developed nations also, but as it such nations, a large number of

people still have to make a lot of efforts to earn their bread and

butter because of which they cannot make use of various facilities

provided by government and non-government organizations. It is

6 K.A. Pfeiffer and M Dowda Dishman, “Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Girls-Change from Middle to High School”. Journal of American College of Sports Medicine. Vol. 39, No. 12, 2007,pp. 223-2241.

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because of this reason that programs introduced in America have

been taken into account7.

Health, vitality, and long life are desirable goals for

everyone, but they are not achieved without effort. Because many

of the habits of modern life do more to diminish health then to

increase it, fitness has to be worked at. If you are resolved to take

a positive attitude toward your health and well-being, and to

prevent problems rather than simply treating them as and when

they occur, then physical fitness must be an essential part of your

life.

Being fit has many advantages, from helping you to control

your weight to giving you a better night sleep. There is impressive

evidence that people who exercise frequently, and in the correct

way, are less prone to heart attacks, strokes and other life -

threatening conditions, and live longer than people whose

existence is sedentary.  You cannot, however, build up a store of

fitness that will last for life. You need to exercise regularly all

your life, and should exercise more, not less, as you get older. The

7 Hebbel Neck Marcel, “The Concept of Health Related to Physical Fitness”. 

International Journal of Physical Education, Vol xxi. 1984,pp 18-19.   

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type of exercise that is most effective in improving fitness is

aerobic exercise. The word aerobic means with oxygen" and all

aerobic exercise uses oxygen. The oxygen reaches the body by

being breathed in through the lungs and distributed to working

muscles via the blood, which is pumped around the circulation by

the heart8.

Ancient Greece which is considered to be the cradle of

civilization gave new dimensions to the application of motor-

fitness in sorting activities and recreation. Sports and recreation

activity in form of dance and cultural activity provided the fun and

also served as a means of preparing for adult life. Sports activities

were taken from daily life’s activities and became a recognized to

improve strength, speed and other motor qualities necessary to

defend their nation for survival. ‘Fittest is the survival and

survival is the fittest’ was the slogan of those days.With the

growing civilization of Greek’s, great philosophers like Aristotle

also advocated the relationship of fitness with mind and soul. He

was of the opinion that “body owns the temple of soul and to

reach to the harmony of body and spirit, the body must be

physically fit”. Liberal Athenians as well as rigid Spartan gave 8 Http://En.Wikipedia.Org/Wiki/Health retrieve on 19/08/2011

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great importance to physical fitness of their people. The revival of

Modern Olympics in the year 1896 has brought a great revolution

among the sports participants to establish their supremacy in the

world. Physical fitness was considered to be the basic requirement

to achieve excellence at national and international level. At the

end of twentieth century, sports assumed cultural magnitude and

complexity hither to unseen, unimagined and brought about

enormously improved results for both the individual and country

at large9.

People define physical fitness in different ways. This is because

people have different body types, different fitness goals, different

health goals, and have different daily demands on their body.

General fitness: This concept of physical fitness encompasses

just about every person. It defines your overall health, well-being,

and state of mind.

Specific Fitness: This is a more defined concept of physical

fitness and it relates to a person’s ability to train their body to

9 www.Unm.Edu/~I Kravitz/Article % 20 Folder/Aqua. Html retrieve on 28/09/2011

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perform specific tasks, such as a sport or military duty at an above

average level10.

Sports Medicine defines physical fitness as a set of attributes

that people have, or achieve, that relates to the ability to perform

physical activity. This guide was written in recognition that both

the quality and quantity of physical activity recommended to the

individuals using this guide is consistent with current physical

activity recommendations for the general public.

The fitness components of cardio-respiratory endurance,

muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body

composition are all inherent within this generalized exercise

prescription. This program specifies the intensity, duration, and

frequency of training and it is the interaction of these three

variables that results in improved health and physical fitness.

Body Composition: This refers to the percentage of fat, bone,

water, and muscle we have in our body. It is how we look.

Cardiovascular Endurance: This is the body’s Ability to supply

oxygen and blood to its muscles for long periods of time during

10 Daryl Siedentop ‘’Introduction to Physical Education, Fitness and Sports’’, Mcgraw Hill 6th Edition, pp 427 Mcgraw Hill Publishers, New York, USA. 2007.

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physical activity. Building strength in the heart and lungs are vital

to a bodies overall health.

Flexibility: This is the range of movement the muscles, tendons,

and ligaments have during periods of physical activity or

stretching

Muscular Endurance: This is refers to the length of time your

muscles can perform an activity or exercise without fatigue.

Strength: - the extent to which muscles can exert force by

contracting against resistance (e.g. holding or restraining an object

or person)

Muscular Strength: This is the maximum amount of weight your

muscle(s) can lift in a single movement.

Agility - the ability to perform a series of explosive power

movements in rapid succession in opposing directions e.g. Zig

Zag running movements11.

11 Allen W. Jackson; James R. Morrow, Jr. D.W. Hill and Rod K. Dishman ‘’ Physical Activity for Health and Fitness’’ pp: 368 USA. 2004.

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Flexibility - the ability to achieve an extended range of motion

without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (e.g.

executing a leg split)

Local Muscle Endurance - a single muscle's ability to perform

sustained work (e.g. rowing)

Cardiovascular Endurance - the heart's ability to deliver blood

to working muscles and their ability to use it (e.g. running long

distances)

Strength Endurance - a muscle's ability to perform a maximum

contraction time after time (e.g. continuous explosive rebounding

through an entire basketball game)

Co-ordination - the ability to integrate the above listed

components so that effective movements are achieved.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

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The purpose of study was to compare physical fitness among

Pharmacy and Engineering students.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study was to find out physical fitness level of

Pharmacy and Engineering students and compare its various

components.

HYPOTHESIS

It was hypothized that there will not be any significant difference

among Pharmacyand Engineering students in their physical fitness

level.

DELIMITATIONS

1. The study was delimited 40 undergraduate students (20

Pharmacy and 20 Engineering) of Institute of Professional

Studies, Gwalior (M.P.)

2.  American Alliance for Health, Physical Education,

Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) fitness test was

applied.

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3. This study was delimited male students aged between 18-25

years.

LIMITATIONS

1. No motivational technique was used to achieve the best

score.

2. It was not feasible to conduct all the fitness test due to some

unavoidable reasons. Therefore only one test will be

conducted.

DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION OF TERMS

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness allows us to perform daily activities and face

physical and emotional stress during moments of increased

intensity. If you are physically fit you have good physical health

and mental health. Being physically fit helps people to perform

exercise well in all circumstances despite of age. Physical fitness

trainers often describe Fitness is the capability to carry out day to

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day functions energetically and vigilantly by keeping extra energy

to do other leisure-time activities and emergency needs.

Fitness is based on the attributes an individual has,

meaning what he is born with or has acquired, in other words

through training. Thus, performance is influenced by inherited

abilities (genetic) and training status. An individual who is

"naturally gifted" will still need proper training to make the most

of their talent12.

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a

state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented

definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports

or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through

exercise, correct nutrition and enough rest. It is an important part

of life. In previous years, fitness was commonly defined as the

capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue.

These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s

ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure

activities13.12 Bijay Krishn Ray, “Comparison of Physical Fitness of Tribal and Urban Students in Tripura’’

 Unpublished Master Degree Thesis, Jiwaji University, Gwalior (M.P.), 1979.13

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. This study will be helpful to develop suitable conditioning

programme for the Pharmacy and Engineering students to

develop physical fitness based on their required to perform

daily task efficiently.

2. This is helpful to know the fitness level of Pharmacy and

Engineering students.

3. This study will be helpful in promoting general physical

fitness among individuals.

4. This study will help the researchers, coaches, physical

educators and students of Pharmacyand Engineeringto

understand the values and importance of physical fitness

which do affect on the personality.

5. This study will help to coaches and trainers to categorize

the students on the basis of their physical fitness.

6. This study will also provides guidelines to categorize the

students on the basis of their fitness level.

Manorma Mehta, “Comparison of Physical Fitness Tribal and non-tribal School Girls of Indore Division.”  Unpublished Master Degree Thesis, Jiwaji University, Gwalior

(M.P.), 1981. 

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7. This study will help student of Pharmacy and Engineering

to shape up their personality for campus.