NAME: -

REGISTRATION NUMBER: -

SCHOOL: -

CENTRE NUMBER: -

TERRITORY: TRINIDAD

YEAR: 2018

NAME OF SUBJECT: MATHEMATICS

TITLE: TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE FREQUENCY OF EXERCISE HAS

AN EFFECT ON A PERSON’S BMI

TEACHER’S NAME: -

DATE OF SUBMISSION: -

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 INTRODUCTION
BMI (Body Mass Index) is the weight of a person in relation to their height which determines if
they are underweight, average weight, overweight or obese. My partner and I chose this topic
being students of the upper school (or exam level classes) upon noticing we were gaining weight.
We realized with everyone’s busy schedules these days in preparation for exams, there is little
time for exercise; therefore these students become susceptible to weight-gain.

Our objective is to calculate the BMI of upper school students (forms 4-6), sorting them
accordingly to how frequently they exercise per week, along with how long they exercise for and
the type of exercise they do in order to investigate our hypothesis and verify whether the
frequency a person exercises has an effect on their BMI. A simple thing that one could do to get
enough spare time to exercise at least once a day is proper time management to balance work and
recreation.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

1) METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION………………………………………………………..4

2) PRESENTATION OF DATA…………………………………………………………………5

3) ANALYSIS OF DATA……………………………………………………………………….7

4) DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS………………………………………………………………..8

5) CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………..9

6) APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………..10

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 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
Data was collected by asking 36 randomly selected upper school (forms 4-6) students, from 8
secondary schools, their height and weight, along with giving them a questionnaire to fill out
which contained multiple choice questions which asked how frequently they exercised per
week, how long they exercised per day and what type of exercise they did. Using height and
weight, BMI was calculated. The data collected (height, weight and time) were all continuous
and grouped.

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PRESENTATION OF DATA

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6
 ANALYSIS OF DATA
The body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet index is a value derived from the mass (weight) and
height of an individual. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body
height and is universally expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and
height in meters.

Based on all the results gathered from various pie charts and histograms made, to show the data
collected, majority of the upper school students were average weight/underweight and exercised
2-3 times a week. Seeing that most do not exercise every day, this problem may be due to our
suspected reason (lack of free time). Despite this problem, the results also showed that most of
the students were average weight –which is good - or underweight - which may be due to a lack
of nutritional value in the meals they eat, stress or doing aerobic exercise (which is considered
more strenuous than balance/flexibility). With exams in the midst, and that becoming a main
focus to students, they may sometimes forget to take care of their health

Students should realize that those who lead all-rounded lives are more probable to being healthy,
physically and mentally, than ones who only focus on work. Students should practice ways of
relieving stress, whether it is by sport, art or music. They should also have a balanced diet and
take vitamins. The type of food you eat/vitamins you take is proven to influence how well you
retain information and plays a major role in your physical health.

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 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
The randomly selected upper school students’ height and weight were used to calculate their
BMI (which was then used to determine their weight status) and the questionnaires they
completed were used to obtain how frequently they exercised. The frequency of exercise and
BMI were directly linked to the aim of our project, which is to determine whether the frequency
of exercise has an effect on a persons’ BMI. The average BMI range for teenagers 14-19 years
old is 15.3-22.6.

Body Mass Index World Health Organization Classification

<18.5 Underweight
18.5-24.9 Healthy Weight (average)
25.0-29.9 Overweight
30+ Obese

At first, it was assumed that frequency of exercise affected the BMI of the students, but after
analyzing the data collected, it was realized that the type of exercise done might have more of an
effect on BMI rather than frequency of exercise.

A limitation was that 36 students were surveyed, which is the average size of a class – more
students should have been surveyed. Another limitation was that only upper school students were
surveyed – lower school students should have been included for more accurate results.

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 CONCLUSION
Upon investigating this topic, it was proven that upper school students indeed lack sufficient free
time but are also average weight (which is not a problem) or underweight (this is considered a
problem) - which may be due to a lack of nutritional value in the meals they eat, stress or doing
aerobic exercise. Gaining too much weight or being underweight is a major problem in our
society today as having an unhealthy weight can increase susceptibility to disease. This should
be used as a wakeup call to students, who should pay better attention to what they eat - and
parents, who should do their best to ensure their children eat balanced meals, eat on time and
take vitamins.

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 APPENDIX
TITLE: TABLE SHOWING THE RECORDED HEIGHT, WEIGHT, FREQUENCY OF
EXERCISE, TYPE OF EXERCISE, LENGTH OF EXERCISE AND CALCULATED BMI

Height Weight BMI Frequency of exercise Type of exercise Length of

(m) (kg) (kg/m2) per week exercise per
day (hrs.)
1.3 41.7 24.7 Less than once a week Aerobic 1
1.5 42.3 18.8 Every day Balance/Flexibility 2
1.6 43.0 16.7 4-6 times a week Strength 0.5
1.4 45.3 23.2 2-3 times a week Aerobic 1
1.4 43.0 21.9 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.2 40.0 27.7 Once a week Balance/Flexibility 1
1.5 40.9 18.9 4-6 times a week Other (Cardio) 1.5
1.6 43.5 16.9 Every day Aerobic Other (longer)
1.7 46.2 15.9 Every day Balance/Flexibility 0.5
1.4 44.3 26.2 Once a week Aerobic 1
1.5 45.5 20.2 Once a week Strength 1
1.5 47.6 21.1 Once a week Aerobic 0.5
1.6 46.3 18.0 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.7 45.3 15.6 4-6 times a week Other (Cardio) 2
1.4 42.3 21.5 2-3 times a week Aerobic 1.5
1.8 48.3 14.9 Every day Strength 0.5
1.5 50.0 22.2 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.4 40.1 20.0 2-3 times a week Aerobic Other (longer)
1.5 55.5 24.6 Once a week Balance/Flexibility 0.5
1.4 52.1 26.6 Once a week Other (Cardio) 1
1.8 56.0 17.2 4-6 times a week Aerobic 1.5
1.9 55.0 15.2 Every day Strength 1.5
1.7 61.3 21.2 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.4 43.0 21.9 Once a week Balance/Flexibility 0.5
1.6 54.2 21.1 2-3 times a week Aerobic 2
1.8 55.0 16.9 2-3 times a week Aerobic 1
1.8 54.0 16.6 Once a week Balance/Flexibility 1
1.6 56.8 22.1 Once a week Strength 0.5
1.9 60.0 16.6 Once a week Strength 1.5
1.7 55.2 19.1 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.5 67.8 30.1 Once a week Balance/Flexibility 1
1.7 65.4 22.6 4-6 times a week Aerobic 2
1.9 63.4 17.5 2-3 times a week Aerobic 0.5
1.9 54.3 15.0 Every day Other (Cardio) 1
1.6 63.3 24.7 2-3 times a week Strength 1.5
1.9 60.0 16.6 Less than once a week Aerobic 2

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 EXERCISE FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE
Good day, our names are __________ and _________. Please fill out our questionnaire before
having your height, ___m, and weight, ____kg, recorded. All information is confidential and for
the purpose of gathering raw data for our Mathematics SBA (school-based assessment). Thank
you for your co-operation in advanced!

Participant Name (optional):

Date:

Age:

INSTRUCTIONS: Please circle the letter of the answer which applies to you or write your answer
in the space provided as the case may be. Do not circle more than one letter per question.

1. How often do you exercise?

a) Once a week
b) Two-three times a week
c) Four-six times a week
d) Every day
e) Other (state length)

2. For how long each day do you exercise?

a) ½ hour
b) 1 hour
c) 1 hours and a ½
d) 2 hours
e) Other (state length)

3. What type of exercise do you do most?

a) Aerobic (running, swimming, dancing, etc.)
b) Strength (weight-lifting, push-ups, crunches, etc.)
c) Balance/Flexibility (yoga, pilates, stretches, etc.)
d) Other

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