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Cited by 96Body Composition Measurement TechniquesSports Performance and TrainingPhysical Education and Training Studies

Body Composition of Elite Female Players in Five Different Sports Games

Open access
Mala, Lucia, Maly, Tomas, Zahalka, František, Bunc, Vaclav, Kaplan, Ales, Jebavy, Radim, Tuma, Martin·2015·Journal of Human Kinetics
DOI 10.1515/hukin-2015-0021PMC PMC4415834
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Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify and compare body composition (BC) variables in elite female athletes (age ± years): volleyball (27.4 ± 4.1), softball (23.6 ± 4.9), basketball (25.9 ± 4.2), soccer (23.2 ± 4.2) and handball (24.0 ± 3.5) players. Fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass, percentage of fat mass (FMP), body cell mass (BCM), extracellular mass (ECM), their ratio, the percentage of BCM in FFM, the phase angle (α), and total body water, with a distinction between extracellular (ECW) and intracellular water, were measured using bioimpedance analysis. MANOVA showed significant differences in BC variables for athletes in different sports (F60.256 = 2.93, p < 0.01, η2 = 0.407). The results did not indicate any significant differences in FMP or α among the tested groups (p > 0.05). Significant changes in other BC variables were found in analyses when sport was used as an independent variable. Soccer players exhibited the most distinct BC, differing from players of other sports in 8 out of 10 variables. In contrast, the athletes with the most similar BC were volleyball and basketball players, who did not differ in any of the compared variables. Discriminant analysis revealed two significant functions (p < 0.01). The first discriminant function primarily represented differences based on the FFM proportion (volleyball, basketball vs. softball, soccer). The second discriminant function represented differences based on the ECW proportion (softball vs. soccer). Although all of the members of the studied groups competed at elite professional levels, significant differences in the selected BC variables were found. The results of the present study may serve as normative values for comparison or target values for training purposes.

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  • Soccer players present different bioelectrical characteristics compared to other athletes.

    “As result of these peculiarities, recent studies [24, 27] have shown that soccer players present different bioelectrical characteristics compared to other athletes [28] and this could make it necessary to develop dedicated predictive equations.”

    From Athletic bioimpedance-based equations underestimate fat free mass components in male elite soccer players: development and validation of new soccer-specific predictive models (2023) · cites this paper as [24]

    The Conclusion (page unavailable) reports that elite female soccer players differed from players of at least one other sport in 8 of 10 body-composition variables measured using bioimpedance. It does not establish that soccer players generally have different bioelectrical characteristics: the measured phase angle did not differ significantly between groups, and the study does not report a comparison of raw electrical characteristics. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Soccer players are on average shorter and lighter than volleyball or basketball players, resulting in lower FFM and different morphology.

    “For example, soccer players are on average shorter and lighter than volleyball or basketball players, resulting in a lower FFM as well as a different morphology [24, 25].”

    From Athletic bioimpedance-based equations underestimate fat free mass components in male elite soccer players: development and validation of new soccer-specific predictive models (2023) · cites this paper as [24]

    The Discussion reports that elite female soccer players had significantly lower fat-free mass than volleyball and basketball players, and links that difference to their lower height and body mass. The Results also report height and body-mass differences between those groups. The claim generalizes beyond elite female players and presents the proposed explanation as a definite cause, whereas the paper says the differences could be caused by height. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Ceritsuat MS Dasdag S Akdag MZ Alteration in body composition of female players in a third league volleyball bout Ovidius University Annals, Series Physical Education and Sport/Science 2010 2 440 443

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Authors
Mala, L., Maly, T., Zahalka, F., Bunc, V., Kaplan, A., Jebavy, R., & Tuma, M.
Affiliations
  • Sport Research Center, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Department of track and field, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Department of sports games, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Venue
Journal of Human Kinetics
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Published
2015-03-01
Volume
45
Issue
1
Pages
207-215
ISSN
  • 1640-5544 (ISSN-L)
  • 1899-7562
DOI
10.1515/hukin-2015-0021
PMC
PMC4415834
OpenAlex
W1502941378
Cited by
96
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4
FWCI
4.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Human Kinetics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Univerzita Karlova v Praze
  • Grantová Agentura České Republiky (GPP407/11/P784)
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 composition, elite female athletes, volleyball, softball, basketball, soccer, handball, fat-free mass, body cell mass, phase angle, total body water, extracellular water, intracellular water, sport comparison, reference values

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