Lean Body Mass Index is an Indicator of Body Composition for Screening Prospective Young Adult Soccer Players

Yohei Takai, Tomohiro Kai, Kyosuke Horio, Miyuki Nakatani, Miki Haramura, Toru Aoki, Katsuyuki Shiokawa, and Hiroaki Kanehisa

[Received November 4, 2015; Accepted July 25, 2016] 

The present study aimed to clarify anthropometry and body composition variables which can discriminate prospective young adult soccer players from others. Thirty-nine collegiate male soccer players were assigned to two groups; players who succeeded in signing a contact as a professional on graduation (N = 10, PRO) and others (N = 29, CON). Body height (BH), body mass (BM) and percent body fat (%Fat) were measured using a stadiometer and a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Using data on BH and BM, we calculated body mass index (BMI) and reciprocal ponderal index (RPI). Lean body mass (LBM) was calculated from BM and %Fat, and divided by BH (LBM/BH) or BH2 (LBM/BH2). LBM/BH2 was significantly higher in PRO (19.2 ± 0.6 kg/m2) than in CON (18.6 ± 0.9 kg/m2), but there were no significant group differences in other variables. BH was significantly related to LBM/BH (r = 0.608, p<0.0001) and RPI (r = 0.331, p<0.05), but not to BMI and LBM/BH2 across subjects. Allometric scaling (b) obtained from exponential relationship between BH and each of BM and LBM was 2.354 for BM and 1.927 for LBM. The current findings indicate that LBM/BH2 is independent of body height and it can be a beneficial index for screening prospective young adult soccer players.

Keywords: body mass index, reciprocal ponderal index, body shape, body size

[Football Science Vol.14, 8-14, 2017]


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