Sep 27 Protection, Comfortable And Performance Aiding Clothing In Exercises And Sports Activities
so that overheating which causes sweating can be prevented.
Gavin (2003), Noted that most reports do not support an effect of clothing fabric on thermoregulation in the cold; he however recorded reports demonstrating an effect and concluded that clothing construction does alter thermoregulation during and following exercise in the cold, where fishnet construction offers greater heat dissipation.
In warm environments, clothing should:
Provide minimum coverage or maximum ventilation of the body core.
Prevent extra physical effort that would increase metabolism.
Be white or light coloured so as to reflect the sun’s rays to aid convective cooling and evaporation of sweat, if exercising outdoors.
Be made of materials that can absorb sweat.
Such that would prevent heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
Allow freedom of movement.
It is pertinent to note that in warm environments, additional clothing increases thermal insulation causing more rapid increases in temperature during exercise and imposes a barrier to sweat evaporation (Gavin, 2003).
Conclusion
Clothing remains a vital area in sports regardless of how heat acclimatized or hydrated athletes are. It is the area that has fashion designers as manufacturers, athletes and coaches as users and others concerned with movement studies in making participation in sports as safe as possible. Clothing in sports offers protection, comfort and mobility and to achieve these, individuals, athletes and coaches must have adequate knowledge of selection and usage and ensure optimal movement pattern.The conclusion is that while designing clothing in sports remains the sole preserve of the fashion designers, adequate knowledge of selecting and usage to ensure optimal movement pattern rests solely on the users.
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