Comparison of Body Composition Variables Across a Large Sample of National Collegiate Athletic Association Women Athletes From 6 Competitive Sports

Fields, JB, Metoyer, CJ, Casey, JC, Esco, MR, Jagim, AR, and Jones, MT. Comparison of body composition variables across a large sample of National Collegiate Athletic Association women athletes from 6 competitive sports. J Strength Cond Res 32(9): 2452–2457, 2018—Body composition (BC) plays a critical role in sport performance and athlete health. Body size and BC have been widely studied in men's sports, with reported changes observed over time. However, a paucity of current data exists in women athletes. The purpose of this descriptive study was to measure and compare BC data for collegiate women athletes from 6 competitive sports. A total of 524 athletes from 2 National Collegiate Athletic Association institutions participated: basketball (BB; n = 95), gymnastics (GYM; n = 42), lacrosse (LAX; n = 81), rowing (ROW; n = 57), soccer (SOC; n = 188), and volleyball (VB; n = 61). Body height (BH) and body mass (BM) were measured using a stadiometer and calibrated digital scale, respectively. Body fat percentage (BF%), fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM) were assessed using air displacement plethysmography. One-way analysis of variance was used to assess differences across sports. Least squares difference post hoc analyses were performed when a significant finding (p ≤ 0.05) was identified. ROW had the highest BF% (29.9 ± 6.1%) and BB the greatest FFM (57.2 ± 6.1 kg). GYM had the lowest BM (58.9 ± 5.3 kg), FM (11.6 ± 2.6 kg), and BH (158.73 ± 2.13 cm). LAX, SOC, and ...

Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - August 24, 2018 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research