Body Composition in Football Players

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It is well known that in athletes as well as in general population the fat percentage (%) is a crucial parameter and also can be a limiting factor when it comes to athletic performance as well as health status if % is above average (2). Specifically in football players, if the fat % is above average, in performance point of view, is an extra weight that the player has to carry which makes it even harder to perform multi directional movements which are complex in nature in a sport such as football. (1,3,4). As mentioned above, in regards to an excess body fat in a football player, despite the fact that it is an extra inert load, it is also associated with an increased metabolic cost as well as it negatively affects VO2max and vVO2 which are important determinant variables in the performance of football (6).

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Every single body composition characteristic (e.g fat free mass, bone mass) in a football player plays its role in regards to performance, although, according to literature (1,4,5) low body fat is required because football involves moving the body against gravity. In other words, achieving desirable and not very low body fat levels, the players can maximize they performance in various variables (e.g speed, power) in the performance of football. On the other hand, very low body fat % can negatively impact performance as well as numerous of other metabolic reactions that occur in our body. It is well known that the body’s needs for fat intake is essential for numerous of reasons: absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A,E,D,K), keep our body warm, for organ protection, hormone production and structural component.

Based on the current literature, body composition plays a crucial role in regards to athletic performance enhancement. For this reason, evaluation of body composition in football players is essential in terms of analysis of markers of general athlete health and performance enhancement.

A special consideration has to be taken during the off-season, where the players rest and recover from the demanding competitive season. During this period, most of the players tend to gain weight due to lower training intensity in comparison to competitive season, and also due to eating habits. For this reason, a balanced diet, an individualized training program and evaluation of body composition are important. It is also important for the football players to return to training after the off-season period with no greater than 1% body fat in comparison to the last value that was obtained. Therefore, tracking and assessing body composition in a regular basis of the player is crucial in order to keep his body composition to an ideal value and limit the negative affects on performance.

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The assessment of body fat have received widespread recognition and it is usually being assessed using skinfolds (Picture 1.) and it is a common method used in football clubs for estimating body fat %. It involves using a caliper that is used to measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat at a skinfold as well as with the help of a mathematical equations. Common skinfold sites include: chest, triceps, suprailium, subscapular, abdomen, midaxillary and thigh.

Also, the use of the anatomical tape for assessing the girth of various anatomical sites of the body is also important for body composition but also for assessing athlete’s body size and composition (6, 8). Both methods are simple, accurate and reliable and can be used to track players body composition through the year and keep them to an ideal values.

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The average values of body fat % for professional football players have been shown to be round 14% and with values ranging from 7% -14% according to published papers (3,4,5,7). It seems that goalkeepers have the highest fat % in comparison to other players. This is due to lower activity level they are experiencing during the game. Finally, in regards to the rest of the players, it seems that there is no significant differences between the players from different playing positions, and these can be also seen from various of studies conducted in professional football players from different European leagues.

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REFERENCES:

1. Cavia MM, Moreno A, Fernández-Trabanco B, Carrillo C, Alonso-Torre SR. (2019). Anthropometric characteristics and somatotype of professional soccer players by position. Journal of Sports Medicine Ther. 4, 73-80.
2. Liu, A. G., Ford, N. A., Hu, F. B., Zelman, K. M., Mozaffarian, D., & Kris-Etherton, P. M. (2017). A healthy approach to dietary fats: understanding the science and taking action to reduce consumer confusion. Nutrition journal, 16(1), 2-15.
3. Milanese C, Cavedon V, Corradini G, De Vita F, Zancanaro C. (2015). Seasonal DXA-measured body composition changes in professional male soccer players. Journal of Sports Science. 33(12), 1219‐1228.
4. Michailidis, Y., Michailidis, C., Primpa, E., Fatouros, I, G., Margonis, K., Chatzinikolaou, A., Douroudos, I., Draganidis, D., & Methenitis, S. (2013). Intraseasonal change of body composition in professional soccer players and differences according to playing positions. Serbian Journal of Sports Sciences. 7(1), 39-44.
5. Soares, J. & Anjos, L. (1993). Relation of anthropometric measures and anaerobic performance in young Brazilian soccer players.
6. Sporis G, Jukic I, Ostojic SM, Milanovic D. (2009). Fitness profiling in soccer: physical and physiologic characteristics of elite players. Journal of Strength Conditioning Research. 23(7),1947‐1953.
7. Tahara Y, Moji K, Tsunawake N, Fukuda, R, Nakayama, M, Nakagaichi, M, Komine, T, Kusano, Y, & Aoyagi, K. (2006). Physique, body composition and maximum oxygen consumption of selected soccer players of Kunimi High School, Nagasaki, Japan. Journal of Physiological Anthropoogyl. 25(4), 291‐297.
8. Sutton, L., Scott, M., Wallace, J., & Reilly, T. (2009). Body composition of English Premier League soccer players: influence of playing position, international status, and ethnicity. Journal of Sport Science, 27(10), 1019-1026.
9. Vasijevic, I., Bjelica, D., Gardasevic, J., Bubanja, M., Corluka, M., Arifi, F., & Sermaxhaj. (2019). Elite football players of Bosnia and Herzegovinian and Kosovia clubs and differences in the morphological characteristics and body composition among them. Journal of Anthropology of Sport and Physical Education, 4(2), 9-13.