Body composition assessment of English Premier League soccer players: a comparative DXA analysis of first team, U21 and U18 squads

Milsom, Jordan, Naughton, Robert, O’Boyle, Andy, Iqbal, Zafar, Morgans, Ryland, Drust, Barry and Morton, James P. (2015) Body composition assessment of English Premier League soccer players: a comparative DXA analysis of first team, U21 and U18 squads. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33 (17). pp. 1799-1806. ISSN 0264-0414

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Abstract

Professional soccer players from the first team (1st team, n = 27), under twenty-one (U21, n = 21) and under eighteen (U18, n = 35) squads of an English Premier League soccer team were assessed for whole body and regional estimates of body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Per cent body fat was lower in 1st team (10.0 ± 1.6) compared with both U21 (11.6 ± 2.5, P = 0.02) and U18 (11.4 ± 2.6, P = 0.01) players. However, this difference was not due to variations (P = 0.23) in fat mass between squads (7.8 ± 1.6 v 8.8 ± 2.1 v 8.2 ± 2.4 kg, respectively) but rather the presence of more lean mass in 1st team (66.9 ± 7.1 kg, P < 0.01) and U21 (64.6 ± 6.5 kg, P = 0.02) compared with U18 (60.6 ± 6.3 kg) players. Accordingly, fat mass index was not different (P = 0.138) between squads, whereas lean mass index was greater (P < 0.01) in 1st team players (20.0 ± 1.1 kg · m−2) compared with U18 players (18.8 ± 1.4 kg · m−2). Differences in lean mass were also reflective of higher lean tissue mass in all regions, for example, upper limbs/lower limbs and trunk. Data suggest that training and nutritional interventions for younger players should therefore be targeted to lean mass growth as opposed to body fat loss.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QM Human anatomy Q Science > QP Physiology
Schools:	School of Human and Health Sciences
Related URLs:	Author
Depositing User:	Robert Naughton
Date Deposited:	29 Sep 2016 13:51
Last Modified:	30 Mar 2018 11:31
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/29469

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