Puimonary function studies in Nigerian sportsmen

Abstract

Lung function studies in Nigerian sportsmen were performed during the Western State Sports Festival. The sportsmen comprise 259 males and 151 females. They were made up of secondary school students, University undergraduates, young clerical and technical workers and soldiers. The forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in I s (FEV,) were performed using the wedge bellows vital graph. The results of the investigation are presented. It was observed that the mean FVC and FEV, values were lower than the predicted mean values of normal Nigerians when matched for age, sex, height and weight. However, the mean observed FVC value of athletes was higher than the observed FVC value of non-athletes. It was also noted that the mean FVC value of the sportsmen correlates with their sporting events, which are determined by the extent of regular and strenuous physical training