Effects of an extracurricular recreational soccer program on overweight university students: a body composition and psycho-emotional analysis in an institutional context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v78.118722Keywords:
Physical exercise, Football, Anthropometric indicators, Extracurricular programs, OverweightAbstract
Introduction: Promoting physical activity in the university context constitutes a relevant strategy to address overweight and its health consequences, particularly through recreational sports interventions that encourage sustained student participation.
Objective: To analyze the effects of an extracurricular recreational football program on body composition and perceived stress in overweight university students.
Methodology: A pilot quantitative study with a quasi-experimental pre-post design was conducted. Seven overweight university students participated in a structured recreational football program lasting 12 weeks. Body composition was assessed through bioimpedance analysis (InBody 380), including body weight, body mass index, fat mass, body fat percentage, and skeletal muscle mass. Perceived stress was explored using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10).
Results: Descriptive reductions in fat mass and body fat percentage were observed, together with a statistically significant increase in skeletal muscle mass (p = 0.024), suggesting a body recomposition pattern. Regarding perceived stress, a post-intervention decrease in mean scores was observed, although it did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.267; d = −0.46). Conclusions: The extracurricular football program was associated with a significant increase in skeletal muscle mass and favorable trends in body composition and perceived stress among overweight university students. These findings should be interpreted as preliminary evidence due to the small sample size and the pilot nature of the study.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Diego Marcial Alamilla, Raquel Elizabeth Villalobos Lara, Andrea Varela Palacios, Ricardo Felipe Ovalle Calderón, Jocelyn Portugal Villar, Alicia del Carmen Contreras Mu, Aida Fernández Ojeda, Yvette Garrido Hidalgo
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