Original Article   

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2022 Oct 28

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.22.14355-0

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Anthropometric prediction of DXA-measured percentage of fat mass in karate athletes

Valentina CAVEDON ✉, Franco SACRISTANI, Marco SANDRI, Carlo ZANCANARO, Chiara MILANESE

Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

BACKGROUND: In karate, high percentages of fat mass (%FM) are often associated with poor sport performance. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is able to accurately measure the %FM (%FM-DXA), but it may not be practical in some sport settings, where anthropometry has long been used as an alternative. This study aimed to explore the ability of sixteen available anthropometric equations to estimate the %FM (%FM-AE) in karate Furthermore, two population-specific predictive equations to estimate the %FM-DXA were developed from anthropometric measurements.
METHODS: Forty-six male athletes aged 21.7±3.8 years underwent anthropometry and a whole-body DXA scan.
RESULTS: The results showed that in male karate athletes all of the considered anthropometric equations are inaccurate in estimating the %FM-DXA within a range of the limits of agreement in the Bland-Altman analysis, which ranged from 6.43% to 13.37%. Regression analysis yielded two statistically significant models (P<0.001 for both) to predict the %FM-DXA. In the first model (adjusted R2=0.883), the predictors were the abdominal, triceps, calf and biceps skinfolds and in the second model (adjusted R2=0. 814), the predictor was the sum of nine skinfolds (i.e., biceps, triceps, subscapular, chest, axilla, suprailiac, abdominal, anterior thigh and calf skinfolds).
CONCLUSIONS: These results underlined the need for sport-specific anthropometric equations in order to accurately estimate the %FM-DXA in male karate athletes. The two predictive anthropometric equations presented in this study provided a useful tool for professionals dealing with body composition in this athletic population to accurately estimate the %FM-DXA by-means of anthropometry.

KEY WORDS: Skinfold thickness; Body composition; Predictive equations; Combat sports