Quality of life and physical activity levels in kickboxing practitioners: a comparative study

This study aimed to compare the various domains of quality of life between practitioners and non-practitioners of kickboxing. The study involved 264 volunteers, of whom 153 (90 males and 63 females) were kickboxers and 111 (57 males and 54 females) were sedentary controls. Comparisons were made between black belt (n = 63) and colored belt (n = 90) and all subgroups with sedentary controls (n = 111). To assess physical activity levels, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was utilized, while quality of life was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare kickboxers with sedentary controls, with a significance level established of p < 0.05. Among kickboxers, 87% (n = 133) were classified as having a high level of physical activity, while 13% (n = 20) had a moderate level. Conversely, in the sedentary controls group, 86.5% (n = 96) were classified as having a low level of physical activity and 13.5% (n = 15) as having a moderate level. Kickboxers were significantly older than sedentary controls, with a median of 30 years (IQR: 23-38) compared to 24 years (IQR: 20-31) among sedentary controls (p < 0.01), respectively. Black belt kickboxers and competitive athletes were taller than sedentary controls with 1.76 m (IQR: 1.70-1.80) compared to 1.70 m (IQR: 1.60-1.80) (p < 0.01). Competitive athletes were also taller than recreational practitioners, with a median height of 1.76 m (IQR: 1.70-1.80) compared to 1.71 m (IQR: 1.60-1.80) (p < 0.05). The results of quality of life indicated that kickboxers (recreational, competitive, black and colored belts) had superior quality of life in all domains physical, psychological, social, and environmental when compared to sedentary controls (p < 0.001). Competitive kickboxers demonstrated higher physical and psychological domains compared to recreational kickboxers (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, black belts only had superior psychological domains than colored belts (p < 0.05). Kickboxing appears to be an excellent option for promoting quality of life in the population. Competitors have a partially higher quality of life than recreational athletes, and black belts appear to have better psychological health than colored belts. Therefore, prospective longitudinal studies are warranted to elucidate the causal relationships and underlying effects.