INTRODUCTION: Specific and practical approaches to estimate fat mass (FM) in athletes are warranted, especially regarding team sports athletes, i.e. futsal players. Assessing skinfold (SKF) thickness and body girth is a simple field technique to evaluate FM, especially when performed by an ISAK (The International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry) certified practitioner. The aim of this study was to develop and cross-validate an anthropometric equation for FM estimation in a sample of male futsal players using ISAK SKF and body girth as variables vs. the dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) fat mass (%) output. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a total of seventy-nine young (18-37 y) professional and semi-professional futsal male players were recruited. Players were assessed for weight (kg), height (cm), ISAK SKF (mm) and girths (cm) by a certified level 1 ISAK-accredited anthropometrist. The FM (%) output used as criterion was obtained by DXA according to standard procedures. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to evaluate the prediction errors regarding FM and a mathematical model was developed accordingly. Validation procedures for the developed models were performed according to the PRESS method. RESULTS: Predictive variables included 3 SKF, 1 girth, and age. The resulting model for futsal athletes presented was: FM (%) = -4.712 + 0.200 * Sum(SKF) + 0.171 * Waist + 0.025 * age [where Sum(SKF) is the sum of triceps, abdominal and thigh SKF in mm, Waist is circumference in cm, and age in years]. The accuracy for the developed model was observed by the high coefficient of determination (r2=0.81). The validation procedure was performed including the regression parameters, correlation concordance coefficient (CCC), and agreement analyses between the FM estimated from the new developed model and the reference method (DXA). No differences between methods were observed with a high correlation being reported (r2=0.80). The precision and accuracy of the methods was 0.906 and 0.997, respectively, with a CCC of 0.9037 (moderate strength of agreement). From the Bland Altman analysis, no trend was observed between the mean and the difference of the methods. CONCLUSION: The high costs and the lack of portability of the DXA equipment precludes its use in most clinical/field settings. Using an easy to perform, safe and reliable method according to the ISAK protocols, our findings deliver a new valid and accurate model for FM (%) estimation in professional and semi-professional futsal players.
© Copyright 2022 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Sevilla, 30. Aug - 2. Sep 2022. Veröffentlicht von Faculty of Sport Science - Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.