Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Elite Water Polo Athletes
Olivia Di Vincenzo
1
, Maurizio Marra
1
, Ada Di Gregorio
2
, Annarita Caldara
1
, Antonino De Lorenzo
3
and Luca Scalfi
2
1
Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University of Naples,
Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy
2
Department of Public Health, Federico II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy
3
Department of Biomedicine and Health Promotion, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy
Keywords: Anthropometry, Body Composition, Bioimpedance, Physical Fitness, Athletes.
Abstract: Elite water polo athletes participate in several high-intensity bouts undergoing heavy training programs. An
optimal athletic performance is a result of many factors, including changes in body composition (BC)
during the sport season. Aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between BC and physical fitness in an
elite water polo team national first league. Ten water polo men athletes (17-26 years) were studied. Data
were collected during the regular season of the 2018/2019 Italian Men's Water Polo First League. BIA
parameters, resistance (R) and phase angle (PhA) were measured at 50 kHz and BC was evaluated. The
physical fitness tests performed were hand grip strength (HGS), long jump (LJ) and squat jump (SJ). Our
study showed that LJ, SJ and HGS were positively related to FFM (Fat-Free Mass) and LJ was also
positively related to whole-body phase angle but not to upper- or lower-limbs. This preliminary study
underlines a close correlation between physical fitness and FFM.
1 INTRODUCTION
Elite water polo athletes undergo heavy training
programs throughout the year, especially to prepare
major competitions.
They participate in several high-intensity bouts
separated by lower-intensity efforts, suggesting that
high levels of strength and aerobic and anaerobic
capacity are necessary for successful participation in
elite water polo leagues
(Botonis, 2018; Keiner,
2018; Melchiorri, 2018; Galy, 2014; Smith, 1998).
An optimal athletic performance is a result of
many factors, including changes in body
composition (BC) during the sport season
(Brocherie, 2014).
Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) is a non-invasive
method to assess BC. BIA parameters (resistance,
reactance and phase angle), are commonly used to
evaluate cellular function and hydration status.
Interest in the application of PhA in athletes as index
of skeletal muscle property, especially body water
distribution in the whole-body and/or limbs, has
growing, but data are not yet constant. In healthy
subjects, the PhA ranges from 5 degrees to 7 degrees
(Barbosa-Silva, 2005) and in well-trained athletes it
may reach 8.5 degrees (Marra, 2011).
Physical fitness can be defined as “a set of
attributes that people have or achieve that relates to
the ability to perform physical activity.” This is the
definition used in both the Surgeon General’s Report
on Physical Activity and Health (Kolimechkov,
2017) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report.
(HHS).
Physical fitness tests are simple to manage,
require minimal equipment, have a low cost and
could be used on a large number of participants in
short time (Plowman, 2013).
BC and physical fitness are components of
nutritional status closely related to each other. In
scientific evidences, a close correlation between
changes in body fluids distribution and changes in
muscle strength and, therefore, in athletic
performance was found (Mascherini, 2015; Marra,
2016; Carrasco-Marginet, 2017; Mundstock, 2018).
The recording of both muscular strength level
and fitness indices of elite male water polo players
appears to be of great scientific interest in order to
provide practical applications regarding the strength
level and fitness profile of water polo players.
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate
the relation between selected physical fitness tests
and BC in an elite water polo team national first
league.
Di Vincenzo, O., Marra, M., Di Gregorio, A., Caldara, A., De Lorenzo, A. and Scalfi, L.
Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Elite Water Polo Athletes.
DOI: 10.5220/0008161401570160
In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS 2019), pages 157-160
ISBN: 978-989-758-383-4
Copyright
c
2019 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
157
2 METHODS
Ten male water polo athletes (age 21.5±3.2 years,
weight 83.9±6.8 kg, stature 183±8 cm, BMI
25.3±1.6 kg/m²) participated in the study. Data were
collected during the regular season of the 2018/2019
Italian Men's Water Polo First League (competitive
period). Athletes were tested in the morning (9.00
a.m.) by the same operator, following standard
procedures. Weight was measured to the nearest 0.1
kg using a platform beam scale and stature to the
nearest 0.5 cm using a stadiometer (Seca 709; Seca,
Hamburg, Germany). BMI was then calculated as
weight (kg) / stature² (m²).
With respect to BIA, impedance (Z) and phase
angle were measured at 50 kHz (HUMAN IM-
TOUCH, DS Medica, Milano). BC (fat-free mass
FFM, and fat mass FM) was determined using
Kushner equation.
The selected physical fitness tests were made
according to standardized procedures. Hand Grip
Strength (HGS), was performed with a Jamar handle
dynamometer (Patterson Medical, Canada) and the
best of three measures was used for analysis. An
isometric long jump (LJ) test was used to assess the
explosive strength capabilities of the leg
musculature. Players performed 1 maximal bilateral
anterior jump with arm swing. Jump distance was
measured from the starting line to the point at which
the heel contacted the ground on landing. The squat
jump (SJ) was performed to estimate explosive leg
power. The athletes performed three single jumps
without arm swing recorded with an OptoJump
device (MicroGate, Italy) and the highest of three
jumps was used for analysis (0.1 cm). Only 8 water
polo athletes performed the physical fitness tests.
Statistical Analysis.
Results are expressed as mean±standard deviation.
For statistical analysis (SPSS. 19.0 vers., Chicago,
USA), simple linear correlation was used to assess
the association between variables. Statistical
significance was pre-determined as p<0.05.
3 RESULTS
Individual characteristics (age, weight, stature and
BMI), BC (assessed by BIA) and phase angle (both
whole-body and limbs) of water polo athletes are
reported in Table 1. Regarding BIA phase angle,
upper-limbs values were particularly higher to those
of a group of healthy non-athletes subjects studied
by our group (data not yet published) whereas
whole-body and lower-limbs values were similar.
Data of physical fitness tests are showed in Table 2.
A linear correlation was found between fitness tests
and FFM (LJ: R=0.601; SJ: R=0.577; and HGS:
R=0.847) (Figure 1). LJ was also positively related
to whole-body phase angle (R=0.703) (Figure 2) but
not to upper- or lower-limbs.
Table 1: Individual characteristics, body composition and
phase angle of water polo athletes.
Water Polo
Players
(n = 10)
Age yrs 21.5±3.2
Weight kg 83.9±6.8
Stature cm 183±8
Body mass
index
(kg/m
2
) 25.3±1.6
Fat mass kg 20.7±6.6
Fat mass % 24.4±6.7
Fat-free mass kg 63.2±5.3
Phase angle
Whole body degrees 7.36±0.52
Upper limbs degrees 6.92±0.46
Lower limbs degrees 7.83±0.63
mean±standard deviation
Table 2: Physical fitness tests performed by water polo
players.
Water Polo Players
(n = 8)
HGS mean kg 47.8±5.5
SJ c
m
28.3±6.0
LJ c
m
216±39
mean±standard deviation; HGS=hand grip strength; SJ=squat
jump; LJ=long jump
4 DISCUSSION
This data showed that a relatively %FM was quite
elevated for professional athletes, mainly because fat
may give some benefit on performance in water
compared to lean mass. HGS measures the
icSPORTS 2019 - 7th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support
158
maximum isometric force that can be generated
mainly from the arm (Castro-Pinero et al., 2010) and
it is an acceptable index of overall muscle strength.
In an italian population (20-29 years), mean HGS
was 44.77±6.68 kg for males and 27.70±4.35 kg for
females (Montalcini et al., 2012). In our study mean
HGS was not particularly higher than healthy non-
athletes.
LJ and SJ are widely performed to assess the
explosive-elastic strength of the lower limbs
muscles. In a not yet published study by our group,
an Italian population (20-30 years) of 85 males,
exhibited mean LJ was 1.68±3.2 m and mean SJ was
25.6±7.4 cm. Data of our study showed higher
values for these fitness tests, especially for LJ.
Figure 1: Linear correlation between physical fitness tests
and FFM.
Figure 2: Linear correlation between whole-body phase
angle and HGS.
The results of the presents study clearly
confirmed a close correlation between fitness tests
(LJ, SJ and HGS) and the amount of FFM whereas
unexpectedly whole-body but not limbs PhA
resulted directly related to LJ.
Limit of the study was the low number of
participants. For the future it would be necessary to
evaluate a large sample of athletes also in order to
better clarify the correlation between fitness tests,
performance and BC. Additionally, it would be
advisable to apply other physical tests more
representative of the physical condition of water
polo athletes and repeat the evaluations for more
moments throughout the season.
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