Relative Body Fat and Anthropometric Prediction of Body Density of Male Athletes
Abstract
Two hundred and seven male members of South Australian representative squads in 18 sports (mean +/- s = 24.2 +/- 4.7 years) were tested in order to provide descriptive data on relative body fat (% BF), develop a population specific equation and cross-validate existing equations. Measurements were taken of 10 circumferences, 2 diameters and 8 skinfolds; body density (BD) was measured by underwater weighing with the residual volume (RV) being determined by He dilution. The overall mean BD was 1.0761 g X cm-3 (s = 0.0085 g X cm-3; range = 1.0465-1.0968 g X cm-3) which corresponded to 10.0% BF according to Siri (s = 3.7%; range = 1.3-23.0%). The games players (n = 129) registered an overall mean of 10.3% BF (s = 3.7%; range = 2.2-23.0%). There were significant differences (p less than 0.05) for % BF between the lacrosse players (mean = 12.3%) an both the Australian Rules footballers (mean = 8.0%) and track and field athletes (mean = 8.7%). A stepwise multiple regression on 185 subjects yielded the following equation, which had an R of 0.787: BD = 1.078865-0.000419 (sigma abdominal, medial calf, front thigh and juxta-nipple skinfolds in mm) +0.000948 (neck circumference in cm) -0.000266 (age in decimal years) -0.000564 (ankle circumference in cm). Only those predictors which resulted in a significantly increased correlation (p less than or equal to 0.05) were included. The standard error of estimate of 0.00537 g X cm-3 was equivalent to 2.3% BF at the mean. This equation was satisfactorily cross-validated against the BD of a separate sample (n = 22) from the same population. However, cross-validation of 11 previously published equations indicated that they have limited applicability to State representative sportsmen.
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Previous studies in soccer players pointed to higher correlation to formulas such as Faulkner, 1968, Eston, 2005, Withers et al., 1987, or Durnin and Womersley, 1974.
“This correlation has been previously investigated in soccer players [89,91,100], but their results pointed to a higher correlation to formulas such as Faulkner, 1968 [101], Eston, 2005 [102], Withers et al., 1987 [103] or Durnin and Womersley, 1974 [104].”
From Body Composition of Male Professional Soccer Players Using Different Measurement Methods: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [103]
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Body Fat Assessment in Elite Soccer Players: Cross-Validation of Different Field Methods
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Anthropometric Characteristics and Somatotype of Professional Soccer Players by Position
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Optimizing Field Body Fat Percentage Assessment in Professional Soccer Players
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- Authors
- Withers, R. T., Craig, N. P., Bourdon, P. C., & Norton, K. I.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- Venue
- European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology
- Published
- 1987
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 191-200
- ISSN
- 0020-9376 (ISSN-L)
- 0301-5548
- 1439-6327
- OpenAlex
- W4246542504
- Cited by
- 192
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 0.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- European Journal of Applied Physiology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Physical Education and Training Studies
- Keywords
- body density, body fat percentage, anthropometric equations, skinfold thickness, neck circumference, male athletes, athletes, residual volume, Siri equation, Australian football, lacrosse, track and field
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