Anthropometric Profile of Soccer Players as a Determinant of Position Specificity and Methodological Issues of Body Composition Estimation

César Leão, Miguel Camões, Filipe Manuel Clemente, Pantelis Theo Nikolaidis, Ricardo Lima, Pedro Bezerra, Thomas Rosemann and Beat Knechtle
Additional contact information
César Leão: Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, School of Sport and Leisure, Melgaço 4960-320, Portugal
Miguel Camões: Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, School of Sport and Leisure, Melgaço 4960-320, Portugal
Filipe Manuel Clemente: Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, School of Sport and Leisure, Melgaço 4960-320, Portugal
Pantelis Theo Nikolaidis: Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Nikaia 18450, Greece
Ricardo Lima: Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, School of Sport and Leisure, Melgaço 4960-320, Portugal
Pedro Bezerra: Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, School of Sport and Leisure, Melgaço 4960-320, Portugal
Thomas Rosemann: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Beat Knechtle: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: The aim of the present study was (a) to describe the anthropometric profile of a large group of soccer players based on different age groups and their playing positions on the field, and (b) to examine the variations of body composition among adult soccer players using diverse equations based on skinfold thickness. A total of 618 Greek soccer players who were grouped by age (i.e., 12–14, 14–16, 16–18, and 18–37 years) and playing position (i.e., goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward) were evaluated for weight, height, and skinfolds. The Pa?ízková formula was used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Furthermore, for players who were 18 years or older the Reilly and Evans formulas was used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Independent of the age, in this large sample, goalkeepers presented higher values for weight, height and the percentage of body fat estimation as compared with other field positions. An anthropometric pattern was observed in each tactical position, namely, across a specific age of increasing maturation process (14–16 years). With the Pa?ízková formula, we found a mean (SD) range of variation in the percentage of body fat estimation between 4.87 ± 1.46 and 5.51 ± 1.46 as compared with the Evans formula. The same pattern of differences was found when the Reilly equation was considered. In conclusion, we observed a position specificity of anthropometric characteristics across different age categories. Additionally, the same data supported different validated equations which resulted in large differences in the final outcome estimations.

Keywords: anthropometry; soccer; position; skinfold equations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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