The effect of clothing fit and material of women’s Islamic sportswear on physiological and subjective responses during exercise in warm and humid environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of clothing fit and material of Islamic sportswear for female on physiological responses and body heat balance during exercise in warm and humid environment. Twelve healthy female students (20.3±0.4 years) exercised wearing four types of women’s Islamic sportswear comprised of two level of clothing fit: loose-fit and tight-fit, and two types of material for sportswear: cotton and polyester on four separate occasions, and in random order. They performed a 30-min treadmill exercise at an intensity of 70% HRmax and then rested on a chair for 20 min for recovery in a chamber set at an ambient temperature of 34°C and relative humidity of 80%. The results showed that clothing fit did not significantly affect physiological and subjective responses, but clothing material did; sportswear made of cotton resulted in a higher increase of tympanic temperature during exercise and recovery compared to that made of polyester (P<0.05). In addition, sportswear made of cotton have lower conductive and evaporative heat loss than sportswear made of polyester (P<0.05). Clothing fit only had significant effect on conductive heat loss; that is tight-fit sportswear showed greater conductive heat loss than loose-fit one (P <0.05). Regarding subjective responses, participants reported lower thermal comfort, greater thermal sensation, and greater skin wetness sensation when performing exercise wearing tight-fit sportswear made of polyester.