Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Elite Water Polo Athletes

Olivia Di Vincenzo

, Maurizio Marra

, Ada Di Gregorio

, Annarita Caldara

, Antonino De Lorenzo

and Luca Scalfi

Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University of Naples,

Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

Department of Public Health, Federico II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

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

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

) 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

28.3±6.0

LJ c

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

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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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