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Effect of Body Mass Index and Gender on Visual and Auditory Reaction Times in Young Adults



Author(s)

Aiesha DurrebarYounus Khan, Amalladinna Ashwini and Basavaraj Malipatil

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DOI:10.17265/1548-6648/2015.02.004

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: Reaction time is defined as an interval of time between the application of stimulus and the initiation of appropriate voluntary response as the subject has been instructed to respond as rapidly as possible. Reaction time is found to be altered by a number of factors both physiological and pharmacological. Our aim was to study the effect of BMI (Body Mass Index) and gender on audiovisual reaction time. METHODS: The study was carried on 122 healthy medical students in the age group of 17-22 years, among them 68 were males and 54 were females .The subjects were presented with two visual stimuli (green and red light stimuli) and two auditory stimuli (tone and click sound stimuli). Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance). RESULTS: Individuals with a BMI less than, and individuals with a BMI greater than the normal range of BMI were found to have reaction times longer than those individuals having normal BMI. Therefore, in order to have the quickest reaction time, one needs to be healthy and fit and should have a BMI within the normal range. It was found that females had significantly longer visual reaction time for red light when compared to males. Even the auditory reaction time was also more in females than males, although it was not statistically significant. 

Gender, auditory reaction time, visual reaction time, body mass index.